Adelaide Airport passengers react to more delays on Monday

The weekend’s travel disruptions have rolled into the week, but passengers passing the time in Adelaide say they’re still holding out hope for their flights.

Holiday travellers have had their plans thrown into disarray after more flights to and from Adelaide were cancelled.

And the worst could be yet to come – with half a million passengers set to pass through Adelaide Airport over the next three weeks.

This Friday is expected to be the busiest day, when an estimated 30,000 people are set to fly.

Travellers were left in limbo on Monday after Jetstar flights to and from Cairns were cancelled.

A Qantas flight from Brisbane to Adelaide, QF1927, set to arrive at 9.15am, was also cancelled.

Three flights to and from Adelaide were cancelled on Sunday morning, after passengers were told of “crewing requirement” issues.

Passengers received last-minute notice and an offer to rebook their flight.

“I was supposed to arrive in Adelaide around 11, my flight from Sydney was 9.30am and I got a message this morning at 4.48am,” a Jetstar passenger said.

“The email came first then the text a minute later … it said it was cancelled because of crewing requirements.”

Airlines have blamed severe weather on the East Coast for the delays and cancellations.

Chris Jacobson and Louise Morton, from Hobart, waiting for a delayed flight at Adelaide Airport on Monday. Picture: Morgan Sette

Passengers waiting to board a Virgin flight to Sydney at Adelaide Airport on Monday. Picture: Morgan Sette

Riley Hazelton from Perth was transiting through ­Adelaide and left Perth on Monday at 7.20am. “It’s been delayed twice,” she said.

“It was originally meant to leave at 3.20pm and this morning it said 4pm.

“When I got here, they said it was 4.30.”

Ms Hazelton said she had spent the time at Adelaide Airport watching movies on her phone.

She is flying to Hobart to visit her sister, who she said would pick her up at 7pm.

Although the delayed transit has meant Ms Hazelton will spend 12 hours travelling, she said she had not been offered a food voucher or any other compensation for the delay.

Hobart couple Louise Morton and Chris Jacobson flew to Adelaide for the weekend using credit from Virgin flights cancelled during Covid.

They were not bothered by the minor delay, which they learnt about after arriving at the airport.

“We’re shocked when our flight is on time, actually,” Ms Morton said.

“As long as it’s not 24 hours. We’ve had a flight that was delayed 24 hours for a four-day trip, so that wasn’t ideal. We haven’t been waiting that long.

“We are using up travel credits from Covid from April 2020 and they expire this year. We were only here for the weekend and we had great weather.

“As long as we get home tonight it’ll be fine – we’re both meant to be at work tomorrow,” Ms Morton said.

Passengers waiting at Adelaide Airport on Monday. Picture: Morgan Sette

Roger Laredo from Hobart said he had a flight delay in Melbourne a few days ago and that he felt they were ­becoming too frequent.

“It’s just happening a bit too much.

“We were flying from Perth on Tuesday and there was a big delay in Melbourne. There’s been so many delays.

“I received a text message really early to say my 9.30am flight was going to be 3.30 in the afternoon. At least they gave me a connecting flight. It’s happening a lot. After we got here and had a look on the board, we saw it said delayed.

“This isn’t so bad, at least there’s communication. They didn’t give a reason, there’s no fog or strong wind, so I don’t think it’s the weather.”

Adelaide Airport executive general manager Dermot O’Neill said customer service teams at airports and airlines across the country would do their very best to get people on their way.

“There really are a number of different reasons that may cause a flight to be delayed or cancelled,” he said.

“We’re into summer storm season a little bit at the moment and that’s affected various parts of the country.

Roger Laredo, from Hobart, has already been delayed twice on separate flights this week. Picture: Morgan Sette

Passengers check their flights at Adelaide Airport on Monday. Picture: Morgan Sette

“Over the weekend, we saw that affect Queensland. South Australia had its turn over the last two weeks as well.”

Mr O’Neill advised anyone concerned their flight might be cancelled to keep in touch with their airline.

The airport would do everything possible to ensure passengers had a smooth journey, he said.

“One of the most important areas that we focus on is areas such as the security screening point,” he said.

“Our workforce there is fully staffed, ready to get people through efficiently. And, of course, all the customer service teams through the airport are here, ready to help people get on their way as quickly and ­efficiently as possible.”

The Advertiser can reveal Virgin Airlines was headed for a disappointing report card when the federal government releases its monthly airline performance data on Thursday. It is believed last month Virgin had its largest number of cancelled flights in 2023, surpassing the July mark of 5.6 per cent.

The concerning findings have prompted the airline to apologise to customers and admit their “performance was below our standards and did not meet some customers’ expectations in November”.

“A combination of factors, including aircraft maintenance, crew resourcing, weather and air traffic controller shortages impacted our performance last month,” a spokesman said.

It is understood the airline’s arrival and departure times have significantly increased.

Although performances were disappointing across the board, Qantas and Jetstar had a lower cancellation rate and a higher rate of arriving on time.

Airlineratings.com expert Geoffrey Thomas said tourists should prepare for the chaos to continue into the Christmas and New Year period.

Passengers at Adelaide Airport passing the time on Monday. Picture: Morgan Sette

A spokesman for Transport Minister Catherine King said: “We expect airlines to be doing better because too many flights have been delayed or cancelled.”

Mr Thomas said airline spare parts were still in short supply and an escalation in Covid cases in November had wiped out cabin crew and staff.

“There are several dynamics. The weather was a major factor in October, only six days out of the whole month were weather impact-free.

“ I know that Sydney Airport was down to one runway several times (in November) due to cross-winds,” he said.

“But the other issue is the industry is still under strain. We have had a big wave of Covid through November – it’s starting to recede now. A lot of Covid illness – you only need one crew member to be knocked out with Covid and the flight can fall over.

“The other dynamic is the industry is still short of spare parts and Boeing and Airbus say the supply line of building aeroplanes is still a year away from being restored back to normal,” he said.

Mr Thomas said Virgin had particularly struggled with a lack of flexibility and its cheaper fares had meant planes were booked out.

“I don’t think Virgin has the flexibility that Qantas has. Virgin is offering cheaper fares than Qantas, so ­people are naturally gravitating to Virgin,” he said.

“One of the problems then is that if a flight is cancelled, putting people on other flights is impossible because all the other flights are full.