Queenstown airport terminal evacuated twice on Friday morning

Queenstown airport's passenger terminal was evacuated twice this morning (Friday May 31) due to false alarms from the same airport tenant in the rental car concourse.

Passengers had to wait outside the terminal for up to 20 minutes on each occasion and then were delayed due to the need for Aviation Security to carry out a secure search of the airside security area before passenger processing could recommence.

A spokesperson for the airport told Crux that there was no actual fire on either occasion.

"The cause was quickly identified, the alarms were deactivated, and the terminal reoccupied. QAC (Queenstown Airport Corporation) has worked with the tenant this morning to resolve the issue that led to the alarm activation."

The first evacuation had no impact on airline operations, but the second evacuation resulted in two flights being delayed on departure.

The Queenstown terminal evacuations came on the same morning as extensive disruption at Christchurch airport due to an aircraft sliding off the runway.