Australia’s biggest airports almost stopped working on Sunday. A total of 29 flights were cancelled and 183 more were delayed at major airports including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.
The problems ruined post Easter travel plans for tens of thousands of passengers.
Sydney Airport was hit the worst with the most cancellations and delays on both local and international flights.
Melbourne’s Tullamarine and Brisbane airports were not far behind. The problems also affected flights heading to Singapore, New Zealand, Los Angeles and other countries.
Bad weather, air traffic control limits and operational failures all played a part. Together, they were too much for ground crews and scheduling systems to handle at the country’s busiest airports.
Passengers said the scenes inside terminals were chaotic. One traveller at Sydney Airport said they waited six hours for a delayed domestic flight.
Then they were told it had been cancelled altogether, which meant they had to stay overnight.
Others said prices for other flights and rideshares shot up because so many people were trying to rebook at the same time, and there were not many seats left.
Airlines put backup plans in place. They offered to move passengers to later flights and gave out meal vouchers and hotel stays where they were allowed to under Australian consumer rules.
But many passengers found that the next available flights were already full. Some routes were booked out for days.
This is not the first time it has happened recently. Earlier this month, airports across Australia and New Zealand had more than 560 disruptions in a single day during the Easter rush.
This has raised serious questions about how well the country’s airline system holds up during busy travel times.
Transport Minister Catherine King’s office said officials were working with airports and airlines to get things back to normal as soon as possible.
The Department of Infrastructure told affected travellers to contact their airlines and check official airport websites for the latest updates.
For passengers still dealing with delays or cancellations, the advice is simple that check your flight status on the airline’s app before going to the airport, keep all your receipts for any extra costs and look into your rights under Australian Consumer Law if cancellations leave you out of pocket.
