Travel chaos hits hundreds of travellers for a third straight day as flight delays and cancellations rock major airports
- Travel chaos at airports along Australia's east coast
- Mass flight cancellations and delays expected
- Strong winds & staffing issues are behind the problems
Hundreds of travellers are facing lengthy delays at airports for a third straight day after heavy winds brought flights to a standstill.
Major airports in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane have been plagued with a number of cancellations and delays over the past three days due to strong winds and staffing issues.
A handful of flights have been delayed or cancelled at Sydney and Brisbane airports on Sunday morning.
Chaos has hit airports along Australia's east coast with more widespread flight cancellations and delays expected for the third day in a row
It's resulted in long queues for the check-in at both airports, as airlines desperately try to clear a backlog of widespread cancellations.
Travellers have been urged to arrive at the airport early for their flight and to keep up to date with their flight details.
About 18 departures out of Sydney that were cancelled on Saturday. It accounted for five per cent of all departures out of the city.
Several more flights heading to Sydney were also cancelled.
About 88 per cent of flights were also impacted by delays on the day, which left many travellers having to wait at least half-an-hour longer to board their flight.
The most cancellations came from Virgin Australia due to staffing problems.
'Multiple Air Traffic Control shortages occurring across the network over the last two days as well as a reduction to one runway in Sydney yesterday has caused a number of crew displacements and operational issues that are now impacting flights in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane,' a spokesperson for the airline said.
The airline explained that more 'disruptions' were expected for Sunday because of 'the ongoing impact of the industry wide disruptions over the last two days'.
'All guests impacted by cancellations are being recovered onto the next available flights,' the spokesperson added.
Sydney Airport had 18 flight cancellations on Saturday, which was five per cent of flights coming in and out of the city
'We apologise to any guests impacted by delayed or cancelled services, and we are working tirelessly to ensure all guests reach their final destination.'
Strong winds have also been blamed as a factor in the major disruptions for airports on the east coast.
Westerly winds reached up to 39km/h and gusts up to 61km/h at Sydney Airport on Saturday, according to Weatherzone.
More than 100 flights were cancelled in and out of Sydney on Friday due to the winds.
The travel chaos comes as New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland are on school holidays.
Despite some cancellations and delays, flight monitors show most departures from domestic and international terminals at Sydney Airport have been leaving on time for Sunday.
