A major city’s airport was thrown into chaos when an accident triggered sprinklers, forcing the evacuation of a terminal and stranding planes on the runway.
The fire alarm went off, causing Perth’s T3 terminal, which serves Qantas domestic and international flights, to be hastily emptied on Sunday afternoon.
Hundreds of potential passengers had to gather outside.
‘Perth Airport evacuated. Reports of a kitchen fire. It could be a long day,” one person posted desperately on Facebook.
Fully loaded aircraft also became stranded.
Hundreds of would-be passengers were left milling around outside Perth Airport after a sprinkler failure caused a terminal to be evacuated
“Stuck on a domestic Qantas flight on the tarmac at Perth Airport,” someone wrote on social media platform X.
“Apparently the terminal was evacuated and they only allowed security personnel back in.”
An airport spokesperson said the incident involved a baggage cart hitting a sprinkler valve, causing water to spray.
The spokesperson said people were allowed back into the terminal.