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January 21, 2026 — 4:59pm
A plane was forced to abort one pass of a landing attempt at Melbourne Airport on Tuesday evening after a man trespassed onto the runway about 11.35pm.
Two other flights’ take-offs were delayed in response to the disruption before a man was taken into custody, an airport spokesperson said.
Australian Federal Police and a Melbourne Airport team responded to the incident,the spokesman said.
“The man was apprehended by the Airside Operations team and subsequently taken into custody by the Australian Federal Police.”
The AFP said a 25-year-old man from Nepal had been arrested.
He has been charged with endangering safety of aerodromes and trespassing on Commonwealth land, and has been bailed to face Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.
“The man was then transported to Northern Hospital under section 232 of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Act,” an AFP spokesperson said.
This week’s incident follows an unrelated disruption at Avalon Airport in March 2025 when a 17-year-old boy allegedly punched a hole in a perimeter fence and attempted to hijack a plane while armed with a shotgun. That case remains before the courts.
Melbourne Airport had its busiest month ever in December, when 3,421,195 passengers passed through the terminals.
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