The plane went back to the gate, and one passenger was escorted by staff off the plane.
The passenger said the rescreening process took a while, estimating they were waiting for 45 minutes.
He said the pilot then came out and told passengers security had located the passenger and their bag – saying a firearm was found.
”Everyone clapped after that.
”It’s a little bit spooky because, you think someone with a gun and ammunition, that’s not comfortable.
”It was kind of odd . .. how could you scan that and let it through in the first place? I guess they did their job in the end.“
Jetstar confirmed the item was not a weapon but a toy.
“One of our aircraft returned to the gate in Wellington this morning for a passenger to be rescreened by Aviation Security,” said a spokesperson.
“That passenger was found to have a toy gun in their carry-on and was offloaded from the aircraft.”
The Aviation Security Service confirmed “Jetstar Flight JQ287 was delayed on 24 July due to a suspected security threat”.
“To ensure the safety of the flight and all passengers on board, a passenger was removed from the flight to be rescreened, along with their belongings.
“We can confirm that this was a false alarm and the flight departed safely. There was no risk to other passengers’ safety,” said a spokesperson.