Unknown cause for lengthy delays at Adelaide Airport
Forty-five minutes and counting – long lines of travellers spilled out of Adelaide Airport early this morning but the cause of the chaos remains a mystery.
SA News
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Long queues filed outside of the Adelaide Airport terminal for the second time in a week on Wednesday morning.
Passenger, Douglas Westley waited in line for 45 minutes for a red-eye flight and feared he’d be stuck for another 60, missing his flight from Adelaide to Sydney.
“I wish I would’ve received a warning from the airline,” he said.
“I came at the recommended time before a flight and now it looks like I’ll miss it.”
It is understood travellers have not be told the cause of the chaos.
Adelaide Airport did not confirm any fault to operations.
A spokesperson said the airport experienced a busy morning at security and check in.
‘All security screening lanes have been open and queues have been moving well,” the spokesperson said.
“There were no delays to early morning departures.
“We appreciate that passengers have been heeding advice to arrive up to two hours before domestic departures and three hours before international departures, which is helping to ensure people have enough time to catch their flight.”
Last Thursday, IT and bay allocation issues caused headaches for early morning travellers.
An airport spokesperson said an IT issue impacted its bag drop system at the northern end of the check in hall, resulting in some bags having to be manually checked in.
“Resultant delays to Virgin departures were between 20 minutes to 1 hour,” the spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, a Virgin Australia representative said multiple incoming flights into Adelaide were not allocated sufficient landing bays. The representative said three flights were given two bays, causing further delays.
It comes as international airlines have warned next Friday’s aviation firefighters’ strike will cause “enormous disruption” and called for the warring parties to resolve their dispute.
The United Firefighters Union Aviation Branch announced on Tuesday members would walk off the job at all airports for four hours on December 9, targeting the busy morning peak period of 6am to 10am.
UFU aviation branch national secretary Wes Garrett said the strike was about “public safety” and industrial action was members’ only option.
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