A woman has been arrested at Canberra Airport after allegedly running onto the tarmac.
The woman managed to make her way past airport security on Wednesday, running after a QantasLink flight that was due to depart for Adelaide.
The woman was reportedly trying to board the aircraft. She was captured on video trying to get the pilot’s attention before he switched off the engine of the aircraft for her safety.
The woman also walked under the plane while on the tarmac.
She was taken into custody by the Australian Federal Police at 7.30pm on Wednesday but no charges have been laid. An investigation is under way.
Simon Hales, who witnessed the incident, described it as “bizarre”.
“… a lady who had clearly missed her flight decided she could still catch it. Pushed past the staff at the door and ran down onto the tarmac and ran up to the plane,” he wrote on social media.
“Literally standing underneath it next the front wheel. Lucky the pilot was warned or spotted her and killed the engine.”
Mr Hales said “no one stopped her” from the dangerous act, something another witness also said occurred.
“People were a bit flat-footed, they didn‘t seem to know what to do, that was the weird part,” Dennis Bilic told 9News.
“(We were thinking) ‘Is anyone gonna stop her?’”
Flights at Canberra Airport were delayed for a few minutes before all operations were returned to normal after the incident.