Flight cancellations at Adelaide airport on Christmas Day

Hundreds of passengers have had their Christmas Day plans thrown into chaos with 11 flights in and out of Adelaide cancelled.

Flights have been cancelled in and out at Adelaide Airport on December 25. Picture: File, NCA NewsWire / Brenton Edwards

It was a case of bad news on Christmas morning for hundreds of passengers flying in and out of Adelaide, with a total of 11 flights cancelled by lunchtime.

Five flights scheduled to depart Adelaide were cancelled, with a further six flights scheduled to arrive at the airport also cancelled.

It is believed the cancellations were caused a combination of bad weather, crew resourcing and engineering issues.

Flights out of Adelaide, which have been cancelled so far:

• Virgin, VA1385 Adelaide to Brisbane at 6.10am

• Virgin, VA212 Adelaide to Melbourne at 8.10am

• Qantas, QF738 Adelaide to Sydney, 10.55am

• Virgin, VA1747 Adelaide to Alice, 11.35am

• Jetstar, JQ779 Adelaide to Melbourne, 1.35pm

Flights into Adelaide, which have been cancelled so far:

• Virgin VA114, Denpasar to Adelaide, 6.20am

• Qantas, QF733 Sydney to Adelaide, 10.15am

• Virgin, VA223 Melbourne to Adelaide, 1pm

• Virgin VA229 Melbourne to Adelaide, 3.10pm

• Virgin VA1746 Alice Springs to Adelaide, 4.25pm

• Jetstar, JQ780 Melbourne to Adelaide, 5.10pm

Alison Vaughan waiting for a delayed flight at Adelaide Airport on Christmas Day. Picture: The Advertiser / Morgan Sette

The Christmas Day cancellations come after a chaotic week of cancelled and delayed flights in and out of Adelaide, disrupting travel plans for hundreds of South Australians over the festive period.

On Monday, Alison Vaughan and husband Kevin had their flight delayed twice after travelling from a holiday on Kangaroo Island.

The couple, who live in Kiama, which is a two-hour drive south of Sydney Airport, said they had plans to see family and catch up with their grandchildren on the way home, but won’t make it now.

“Our plan when we got back to Sydney was to go to my daughter’s place and see our grandchildren and see what they got from Santa,” Ms Vaughan said.

“But we’re not going to make it now and because we’re getting in later, we’re just gonna have to go straight home.

“If we get our flight delayed further or cancelled, we hope that Qantas gives us some accommodation or a meal voucher at least.

“Every bit that they push it back, it makes it a bit different for us at the other end.”

Holly van Vliet and her parents wait for a delayed flight to Alice Springs at Adelaide Airport on Christmas Day. Picture: The Advertiser / Morgan Sette

Travelling to Alice Springs to spend Christmas lunch with her husband, Holly Vanvliet is now more than $700 extra out of pocket after she had her flight with Virgin Australia cancelled.

She said she was meant to fly out at 11.20am but got a notification that her flight was cancelled.

She said she spoke to Virgin Australia over the phone who told her they could send her home via Queensland, which would leave her more out of pocket.

“I was booked on the Virgin flight but then that got cancelled and they changed it and put me on a flight that would stop overnight in Brisbane where I’d have to pay for my own hotel,” she said.

Virgin staff were dressed for the festive season at Adelaide Airport staff on December 25 – however, many flights were grounded. Picture: The Advertiser / Morgan Sette

“It’s heavy on the bank account because I don’t know whether I will get a full refund from Virgin and I’ve had to spend an extra $700 since.

“Virgin said they were going to process it from their end but because I booked through a third party they said they weren’t sure what that will look like and whether I will get a refund.”

Ms Vanvliet is now booked to fly with Qantas and will have to fly via Darwin to get home back to Alice Springs.

Qantas cancelled one flight out of Adelaide on Monday which has had a knock-on effect for other flights.

Sydney Airport is currently experiencing heavy storm weather with flooding, which is impacting flights landing, with Qantas saying further cancellations or delays could be expected due to the weather.