A security concern at Auckland International Airport's domestic terminal resulted in passenger processing being halted for almost an hour on Tuesday afternoon.
"There was a security concern which occurred just after 3pm, and because of that, screening for the jet airline services was temporarily halted," a spokeswoman for the airport said.
The service was back up and running by about 3.50pm.
Civil Aviation corporate communications contact manager Mike Richards said the incident had occurred after a passenger left his phone unattended.
After leaving the device on a seat airside upstairs, the passenger back-tracked through the arrival doors to retrieve it before returning landside with the phone.
CCTV footage was thoroughly reviewed and it was clear the passenger had no interaction with others so no further action was required, Richards said.
Earlier, Auckland airport tweeted that it was addressing a security concern.
Twitter user Amanda CossieWell said none of the airport's X-rays were working and a large line had formed.