Police are not commenting on why it took more than an hour to begin evacuating Queenstown Airport's terminal after a note mentioning a bomb was found on a plane.
The note was found by a cleaner on a Qantas Boeing 737-800 from Sydney after it landed at the airport at 2.14pm on Sunday.
Police and airport staff did not begin evacuating the terminal until about 3.20pm.
Senior Sergeant Paula Enoka, of Queenstown, did not respond to an emailed question from the Otago Daily Times asking for the reason for the delay.
Speaking to the ODT earlier yesterday, Snr Sgt Enoka would only say the investigation was continuing and witnesses spoken to so far had been co-operative.
She would not comment on the note's wording or other features, and said police would only make the note public if it was useful for the investigation to do so.
Police, Aviation Security and dog teams searched the plane, terminal and baggage for about an hour, but nothing was found.
The scare caused disruption for hundreds of passengers and led to the diversion of two incoming domestic flights and the cancellation of three outbound flights, including an international flight to Sydney.
