Last night there has been a major Joint Counter-Terrorism operation in Australia to disrupt a terrorist plot to bring down an airplane, Australian Minister for Justice Michael Keenan reported today.
At this stage, four people have been arrested and a considerable amount of material has been seized by police. Additional security measures were put in place at Sydney airport already on Thursday. These and further measures have been extended to all major airports at domestic and international terminals around the country overnight.
The Office of Transport Security however has advised that security screening will take longer and travelers should arrive at terminals at least 2 hours before flights to allow ample time for screening. Passengers are requested to limit the amount of carryon and checked baggage so far as possible, as this will help to ensure that security screening is efficient.
The Australian Federal Police Commissioner didn’t want to talk specifics, as the operation is still ongoing, the commissioner announced that a number of items of great interest have been found but didn’t provide further details, other news websites say that improvised explosive devices have been found.
The commissioner added that they received credible information from partner agencies, he stressed that they are taking the threat very seriously.
