Sydney Airport incident

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) strongly refutes media reporting that it failed to respond in a timely or adequate manner to a minor disturbance at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport International Terminal on 31 March 2009.

The AFP responded to a notification from airport authorities of ‘unwelcome guests’ in the terminal’s departures area on the afternoon of 31st March. 8 AFP officers subsequently responded and were at the scene of the incident within 2 minutes of being notified.

The event was notified to the AFP only after the incident had dissolved and all persons of interest had already left the restricted area.

There was no breach of the sterile area nor was there an aviation security breach at any time.

Attending AFP members were later advised of an allegation that Customs Officers had been the victims of a common assault with no injuries sustained. An investigation is current in relation to the allegations of common assault. CCTV footage of the incident is being examined as part of that investigation. As this is an ongoing assault investigation, it is inappropriate to comment further.