Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has said that travellers flying domestically and internationally from Australia’s airports will face tighter security measures after the authorities thwarted an apparent plot to “bring down an airplane”.
Authorities ramped up security at all major Australian airports after counter-terrorism police thwarted the alleged terrorist plot.
Several homes in Sydney suburbs were raided and finally four men were arrested after uncovering plans to carry out an attack with an improvised device, according to police. The authority believes that the suspects were inspired by the Islamic State militant group.
The travellers were requested to limit their checked and hand baggage. They were further noticed about the delays caused by additional security measures. The nation’s busiest hub, Sydney saw the major security tightening rules and similar measures were extended to all major international and domestic terminals across Australia on Saturday night.
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Andrew Colvin on Sunday said officers are “investigating information indicating that the aviation industry was potentially a target” of the planned attack. He declined to discuss potential charges that the four men in custody might face. None of the men worked in the airport industry, he said. Wearing gas masks and ballistic armour, and backed by fire crews and specially trained paramedics, officers from the Joint Counter Terrorism Team stormed five properties in the Sydney suburbs of Surry Hills, Lakemba, Punchbowl and Wiley Park
Virgin Australia and Qantas Airways informed its passengers via text messages, emails and on their social media platform about the expected delays.
Australia, a close ally of the United States, has been on heightened alert for attacks by home- grown militants returning from fighting in the Middle East, or their supporters, since 2014.
