Scissors Lost at New Chitose Airport Store
36 Flights Canceled, 201 Delayed
A pair of scissors went missing at a store in a Japanese airport, causing a large-scale cancellation and delay of flights.
According to Japanese media including Nikkan Sports on the 20th, 36 flights to and from Hokkaido's New Chitose Airport were canceled and 201 flights were delayed on the 17th. It was the Obon holiday in Japan (equivalent to Korea's Chuseok), a day when many people were traveling home, but the massive cancellations and delays caused great inconvenience to passengers.
The reason for the flight cancellations and delays was that a pair of scissors used at a store within the restricted area of the airport went missing. Since scissors can be used as a weapon, they are strictly controlled within the airport.
According to the airport, around 9:30 a.m. that day, a store located just in front of the security checkpoint within the restricted area reported that "the scissors normally used had disappeared." The store had been taking scissors out from a locked storage box for use.
Due to the missing scissors, all security checks were suspended for two hours, and passengers who had already completed screening and were waiting to depart had to be re-screened. After two hours of searching without finding the scissors, the airport resumed operations.
The missing scissors were found the next day, on the 18th, by an employee of the store. The airport explained that it took time to verify whether the found scissors were the same as the missing ones, which is why the announcement was made on the 19th.
The airport stated, "We recognize that this occurred due to poor storage and management systems at the store," and added, "We will review the system once again." Hokkaido Airport (HAP), which manages New Chitose Airport, also views the incident as caused by inadequate storage and management at the store and is investigating the detailed circumstances of the case.
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