<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>339773</docID> <postdate>2025-03-07 12:20:01</postdate> <headline>Plane showdown sparks airport security review call</headline> <body><p><img class="size-full wp-image-339774" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/20250306141841164443-original-resized.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="507" /></p> <caption>A teenager has been charged after a passenger allegedly tried to board a plane with a shotgun. (7news/AAP PHOTOS)</caption> <p><span class="kicker-line">By <strong>William Ton</strong> and <b>Rachael Ward</b>Â in Melbourne</span></p> <p><strong>Calls for an urgent review of security at Australian airports have emerged after a teenage boy allegedly forced his way onto a plane with a firearm before being detained by passengers and crew.</strong></p> <p>Police say the 17-year-old climbed through a hole in a fence at Victoria's second busiest airport before making his way on foot to the aircraft.</p> <p>The incident took place on a Jetstar plane due to fly from Avalon Airport, near Geelong, to Sydney with 160 passengers on board on Thursday afternoon.</p> <p>The teenager was charged with multiple offences including unlawfully taking control of an aircraft, orchestrating a bomb hoax and possessing a firearm.</p> <p>He was remanded in custody and faced Victoria's Children's Court on Friday morning.</p> <p>Avalon Airport has fully reopened with all flights operating as normal.</p> <div class="wire-column__preview__text" id="preview-body"> <p>The Transport Workers' Union has called for a security review of Australian airports, pushing for a Safe and Secure Skies Commission to ensure a coordinated safety approach across the nation.</p> <p>"There are serious questions to be answered here," the union's National Secretary Michael Kaine said.</p> <p>"We need to see all players working together towards a safer and better aviation industry instead of relentlessly cutting costs, which has seen safety plummet at our airports."</p> <p>Flight Attendants' Association Australia federal secretary Teri O'Toole was concerned that someone would have been able to enter restricted areas of the airport, including while planes are parked overnight.</p> <p>Ms O'Toole praised the bravery of the crew and said Jetstar had offered them support.</p> <p>"This is a perfect example of, as the last line of defence they came through."</p> <p>Avlaw Aviation Consulting chair Ron Bartsch described the incident as "simply not acceptable".</p> <p>"It's not inconceivable that someone with some wire cutters or whatever can cut through a fence, so it makes a mockery of having sophisticated scanning and security systems if people can simply bypass it," he told ABC Radio Melbourne.</p> <p>The airport's chief executive Ari Suss said the organisation was working with Victoria Police.</p> <p>"As part of our ongoing commitment to security, we have implemented further measures across the airport, including within the terminal and surrounding areas," he said in a statement.</p> <p>The probe is being carried out by crime squad investigators with no involvement from the force's counter terrorism unit.</p> <p>The teen allegedly tried to climb the front stairs into the plane cabin but was noticed by passengers and subsequently overpowered by three civilians, Victoria Police Superintendent Michael Reid said.</p> <p>"This would have been a very terrifying incident for the passengers of that plane and Victoria Police really commend the bravery of those passengers who were able to overpower that male," he said.</p> <p>Passenger Barry Clark tackled the teen as he spoke to a flight attendant.</p> <p>"Before we knew it, a shotgun appeared and I was worried about it being shot," Mr Clark told the public broadcaster.</p> <p>"All I could do was push her out of the way, get the gun out of the way, break that gun and throw it down the stairs, and then put him in a hold, throw him to the ground until the police came."</p> <p>Jetstar said it was working with police and the airport to understand what happened.</p> </div> </body>