A succession of flights have been delayed at Perth Airport after the police helicopter entered the airspace as part of a ground pursuit.
Traffic Enforcement Group officers' automatic number plate recognition cameras alerted them to stolen number plates on a black Holden Commodore utility.
The car failed to stop for police at the intersection of Bulong Avenue and Great Eastern Highway, near the entry to the domestic terminal, just before 10am.
Police vehicles and the helicopter followed the suspect off and on throughout Perth's north-east.
A Perth Airport spokeswoman said four flights were forced into a holding pattern, with one flight coming from Karratha, with regional airline Alliance, hovering for 22 minutes before it was able to descend.
Police finally closed in on their quarry in the CBD.
The suspect abandoned his car in a Wellington Street car park and officers gave chase on foot, arresting him on the corner of Hay and Irwin streets.
Belmont officers have now charged a 36-year-old Sawyers Valley man with offences including failing to stop, reckless driving, driving without authority, stealing number plates and driving an unlicensed vehicle.
He is due to appear at Perth Magistrates Court on May 31.
His car has been impounded for 28 days.
Normal flight patterns have now resumed.
