Police on Monday launched an investigation after a suspicious bag was found at Dunedin international airport, which led to hours-long closure of the airport.

According to police, a person climbed over a fence around the airfield and left a black laptop bag with a note, reports Channel News Asia.

Roads to the airport were closed after the package was found. Moreover, Air New Zealand flight 691 from Wellington circled around the city for almost an hour before returning to its destination.

New Zealand Defence Force ordinance team was called in to neutralise the object. The airfield only reopened on Monday morning.

Police in a statement said: "The insensitive nature of this act in light of recent events cannot be overstated. A large number of people were disrupted and distressed as a consequence."

This comes in the wake of a high alert in New Zealand after a terrorist, who is believed to have lived in Dunedin, killed 50 people in two mosques in Christchurch on Friday morning.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)