Korean KE812 threatened with suspension if it didn't return to Sydney

Transport security officials had to threaten to withdraw Korean Air’s right to fly to Australia to convince one of its aircraft to return to Sydney with a passenger who had tested positive for explosives, it was revealed yesterday.
Flight KE812 left Sydney as scheduled at 7.45 pm on Wednesday and was north of Cairns about 10pm when it was told by Transport Department officials to turn back.
Australian officials said the aircraft was initially reluctant to obey the instruction and a tough line was taken to convince the airline to comply.
“We did threaten them with the suspension of their right to fly into Australia if they didn’t return,” a source said. Security officials wanted the Seoul-bound plane and its 288 passengers back after the airline bundled a late passenger, who had tested positive in a trace explosion test, on to the plane and took off without re-screening her five pieces of checked baggage.
False positives are not unusual but the procedural breach was considered serious enough to take the unusual step of ordering back the aircraft, believed to be a first for Australia and among a handful of examples worldwide since September 11.
The embarrassing security lapse yesterday prompted a high-level federal government inquiry and exploded into a round of finger-pointing as the airline and Sydney Airport blamed each other for the bungle.
Angry aviation security officials also warned other international airlines that they faced similar treatment if they failed to follow correct procedures.
“This serves as a warning that if this sort of situation occurs, aircraft are not to take off and we must be notified and appropriate procedures and protocols followed,” Office of Transport Security first assistant secretary Andrew Tongue said yesterday.
According to government and airport sources, Korean Air’s airport station manager was aware that the passenger had tested positive but insisted the plane should leave on time.
One source said the station manager was escorting the passenger through the security screening when she was pulled over for a random explosive trace test.
The test is understood to have given mixed results, with one negative and two positive traces, but a search produced no further results.
An airport source said the Korean manager had been keen for the aircraft to leave on time and became “quite animated” at suggestions of a delay.
Australian Protective Services officers were called to the scene by contract security staff but discovered on arrival that the woman had been boarded by the airline and the plane had left.