Pair of scissors causes cancellation and delays at airport

A pair of scissors was reportedly missing at a store in the New Chitose Airport in Japan which caused the cancellation of 36 flights and 200 delayed flights.

According to the airport's operator, Hokkaido Airports Co. Ltd., a retail store in the airport reported the missing scissors. Since the airport imposes strict security protocols, the management announced that they will temporarily suspend all flights, and close security checkpoints to perform security inspections.

The temporary suspension of flights has caused a severe backlog and denied entry of many passengers to the airport.

After two hours of imposing security measures, the scissors were found by the retail staff at the store, however, the management delayed the announcement until they had verified that they were the same pair.

"We recognize 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," a representative said.

Further reports said that the management will continue its investigation since the scissors must be removed from locked storage whenever they are used.