TOKYO — A missing pair of scissors caused more than 200 flights to be canceled or delayed at one of Japan’s largest airports.
Employees at a store at New Chitose Airport reported the missing item on Saturday, according to a news release from the airport’s operator, Hokkaido Airports Co. Ltd.
As a result, officials at the facility in the northern prefecture of Hokkaido decided to temporarily suspend all flights, close security checkpoints and conduct safety inspections, the press release said.
A total of 201 flights — 129 departures and 72 arrivals — were delayed, the release said. Another 36 flights were canceled, the release said.
Passengers who had previously been screened had to be re-screened and security checks were suspended for about two hours to ensure safety, the report said.
The scissors were found by an employee in the store the day after they went missing following a search, the company said. The company added that it only announced the missing scissors after it was determined they were the same pair.
“This incident occurred due to inadequate management by the store’s tenant,” the press release added. “We are committed to investigating this incident, determining the cause and preventing recurrence,” it added.
The investigation will continue because the scissors must be removed from a locked storage area each time they are used, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported.
One of the delayed bands was Japanese rock band 9mm Parabellum Bullet, who were unable to perform at the Rising Sun music festival in Hokkaido because their flight was cancelled.
The band apologized to fans in a statement on the festival’s website: “We will definitely take revenge!!”
Other passengers, some of whom were stuck on the plane, expressed their displeasure on social media, while others praised the staff for the way they handled the situation.
“I know it must have been a struggle to get through security and off the plane in Shin-Chitose, but the attendant should be commended for properly reporting the loss of the scissors. I couldn’t have told them,” wrote someone on X, with the username @ryosuke1942720.
Arata Yamamoto reported from Tokyo and Charlotte Kwan from Hong Kong.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
