Woman who walked through security, towards plane in 'extraordinarily bizarre' incident fined

The behaviour of a woman who walked through airport security and onto the tarmac has been described as “extraordinarily bizarre” in court.

Rejoice Alfred was 19 when, on 1 November 2023, she went into a secure area at Canberra Airport and walked onto the tarmac and towards a plane.

She was later found sitting in the back of a taxi.

The now-21-year-old appeared in the ACT Magistrates Court where she admitted to entering an airside area without permission and damaging glass panels on two fire alarms.

During her sentencing, CCTV footage was played to the court, which showed Alfred entering the airport and passing through security before ultimately walking on the tarmac.

In the recording, she is seen walking through the airport’s lobby before passing through security and entering a secure area.

Once there, Alfred appeared to push at or shake security doors before one opened.

Alfred ran across the tarmac, followed by several people in high-vis vests, with a plane visible in the background.

Previously tendered court documents stated that she walked under the fuselage of a plane that had about 100 passengers onboard.

She is shown on CCTV returning to the airport, heading down a flight of stairs and getting into the back of a taxi shortly before police arrive.

No one physically prevents her movements throughout the recording, though people do follow her or stand near her at times.

In court, Richard Brandon-Baker from Legal Aid said Alfred’s behaviour was “bizarre” and described it as the result of a psychotic episode.

He asked the court to impose a non-conviction order and said his client “doesn’t have a great recall of the incident herself”.

Also, he told the court that Alfred was no longer using cannabis and had recently started university studies.

“She hasn’t been in trouble since the offending at all,” he said.

Prosecutor Mark Wadsworth said it was unclear how many hours of flights had been delayed because of Alfred’s actions.

While the offending was “spontaneous and not seriously planned”, he said that “matters of airport security are serious”.

Magistrate James Lawton described Alfred’s behaviour as “extraordinarily bizarre”.

While he accepted the submission her actions were the result of a psychotic episode, he also said he accepted a court report that indicated it had been drug-induced.

The court heard that, at the time, she had been using cannabis several times a week.

Magistrate Lawton convicted Alfred and fined her a total of $750.