The Albanese government has confirmed that a major counter-terrorism operation foiled a plot to hijack an Australian passenger plane.
The plan was stopped before it could be carried out.
The AFP and Counter-Terrorism Taskforce are leading the investigation after a suspect was arrested earlier this year and charged.
That person remains before the courts, but a suppression order prevents their identity from being made public, The Australian reports.
In response, the Department of Home Affairs has met with airport owners and operators across the country to strengthen aviation security.
Investigators are also examining whether anti-Semitic and pro-Middle Eastern extremist ideology may have motivated the alleged hijacking attempt.
Albanese government Health Minister Mark Butler confirmed the plot on Sunrise.
‘Obviously any report of a potential hijacking sends shivers down the spine of every Australian. Particularly Australians who fly.
‘I want to be cautious about this. This alleged hijacker is in custody. There’s no threat to the Australian community.
‘But there’s a suppression order on this for good reason. Investigations are still underway by our intelligence and security agencies.
‘So we don’t want to speculate about other aspects of this issue. We want to let our agencies do their work and that will all come out in due course and be prosecuted in the normal way.’
Former pilot David Oliver told Sunrise the plot would have been extremely difficult to carry out.
‘Firstly there’s a security protocols on the ground which are fairly strict, both for airport workers an nonairport workers who have to access certain facilities,’ he said.
‘And on the aircraft, there is strict protocols for flight access which both the cabin crew and flight crew are privy too that passengers would not know – it would be difficult to get into the flight deck.’
