An air passenger in Australia brought SydneyAirport to a standstill for an hour on Saturday, when he was so engrossed in his iPad he walked past airport security.

CCTV cameras picked up the man and the event caused major concern among the security personnel that they evacuated passengers.

As the Sydney Morning Herald reported, the passenger’s absent-mindedness proved very inconvenient for hundreds of other flyers, who not only had to leave the terminal building, but also had to go through security checks again before boarding their flights.

A Qantas spokesperson told the paper: "The man disembarked a flight and left. It appears he wasn't paying attention, was looking at his iPad, forgot something and walked back past (the security area)."

The man was released by security agents without any charges, and has not been named.

Security is a hot button issue in Australia at the moment, following the declaration by Prime Minister Tony Abbot that a terrorist attack was likely to take place on Australian soil.

Earlier this month, 15 people were arrested in Brisbane and Sydney, ahead of a plot to detain and behead random members of the public.