Airport faeces up to awful situation
By Linda Smith
April 06, 2005
From:
A BLOCKED toilet caused chaos at Hobart Airport yesterday when baggage handlers mistook a putrid toilet smell for a dangerous gas leak and evacuated the building.
Around 30 passengers and airline staff were rushed from the Qantas domestic airport terminal as a precaution after the stink was noticed just after 1.30pm.
The Aviation Fire and Rescue Service and Tasmania Fire Service attended the scene and discovered that the foul smell was not inherently dangerous, but was actually seeping from a blocked toilet.
Tasmania Fire Service station officer Shane Batt said investigations found the smell from a waste pipe was being drawn into the air-conditioning system, filling the Qantas Club lounge with a rotten gas smell.
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Mr Batt said after consultation with onsite builders the area was reopened after about an hour and no one was injured.
Hobart Airport chief executive Wayne Tucker said the incident occurred during a quiet period and was all over in a few minutes, with no flights disrupted.
"It was largely staff, it was a quiet time and there were very few passengers involved," Mr Tucker said.
"I can't help giggling about it really, if it wasn't potentially serious."