Sydney Airport delays as runways close amid strong winds

Flights have been delayed at Sydney Airport after strong winds forced the shut down of runways during the busy Easter long weekend.

Flights have been delayed at Sydney Airport after strong westerly winds forced the shut down of runways during the busy Easter long weekend.

Two north-south runways closed at 7:40am following weather warnings and all arrivals and departures are operating on the single east-west runway.

A Sydney Airport spokeswoman said delays are expected to be roughly 20 to 40 minutes for outbound international and domestic services and inbound flights are running to schedule.

The Sydney Airport are anticipating single runway operations to stay in place until approximately 8pm tonight.

An Airservices Australia spokesperson said the one runway will remain in use until westerly wind conditions improve.

“Airservices Australia will continue to monitor the situation and review our protocols to ensure continued service delivery throughout this busy holiday time.”

A Virgin Airlines Australia spokesperson said the delays have impacted other airlines, including Virigin.

“A number of Virgin Australia flights have been delayed, none have been cancelled at this time,” the spokesperson said.

“We sincerely apologise to guests impacted by disruption and are working hard to get them to their destinations.”

Weather warnings have delayed flights by up to an hour at Sydney airport.Picture: Nicholas Eagar

Senior Meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology Jordan Notara said the strong western winds, which have reached 40 kilometres an hour at Sydney Airport, are due to a low pressure system in the Tasman Sea.

“Westerly winds will be strong into the early parts of tomorrow so we will be seeing a cooler maximum temperature but it will ease by tomorrow afternoon,” he said.

There are currently no flight cancellations and travellers are encouraged to get in touch with their airlines directly for updates on their flight status.

More to come.