Hundreds of flights cancelled and delayed over missing pair of scissors

Flights have been cancelled in Japan because a pair of scissors went missing.

At least 36 flights were cancelled and 201 delayed at Hokkaido’s New Chitose Airport on Saturday morning.

Passengers were forced to go back through security as authorities tried to locate the missing pair of scissors, which were found the following day, the BBC reports.

Authorities then had to confirm if they were the same ones lost from the store in the domestic terminal before announcing they had been found on Monday.

One traveller told local media: ‘I don’t think we have any choice (but to wait).

‘But I do hope they are bit more careful about it.’

Another said: ‘So many things to worry about these days… it never ends. And I don’t feel safe until I get home.’

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said they asked the airport to investigate the cause of the missing scissors.

Hokkaido Airport said: ‘We recognise that this occurred as a result of insufficient storage and management systems at the store.

‘We are aware that this is also an incident that could be linked to hijacking or terrorism, and will once again work to ensure thorough management awareness.’

They are one of Japan’s busiest airports, serving the world’s second-most travelled domestic air route between Tokyo and Sapporo.

More than 15 millions travellers used the airport in 2022.

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