Prankster gag rattles travellers

The large sign, painted in white on the roof of a business close to the airport, can be seen from the window of incoming flights to the Harbour city.

Brad Heasman had the sign professionally made, using reflective road paint for $4500, telling Seven’s Sunrise program, “it’s worth it”.

“There’s planes always going overhead here, so I have a little giggle to myself every time I see one,” he told the program on Thursday.

The puzzling sign has gained traction on social media, with one user on social forum Reddit commenting, “Ha ha, I remember seeing that … I had a heart attack because I had just come from Perth.”

Mr Heasman, originally from Perth, figured it was the furthest place away, so it would give the “biggest scare to anyone that was landing”.

“It’s a nice dose of Australian humour for them,” he quipped.

“And it was also the easiest one to write.”

Mr Heasman, along with his uncle and father, were inspired by a similar prank in the US, where a “Welcome to Cleveland” sign was painted on a roof to confuse passengers flying into Milwaukee.

“We figured we’ve got the perfect route to do the same thing in Sydney,” he said.

Mr Heasman said no officials had contacted him about the sign, but “probably after this the authorities will get in contact with me”.