The ‘mess’ at airports continues in lead up to Easter

Aussies keen on a long-awaited holiday are enduring airport delays, queues and cancellations and the bad news is it’s expected to continue.

Australian travellers can expect long delays for most of April, as the chaotic scenes at Sydney Airport continue for a sixth straight day.

The public has returned to airports en masse over the Easter and school holiday period with borders now open.

But it has led to lengthy delays, long lines that snake outside the building, problems checking in and cancelled or missed flights.

Long queues at Sydney Domestic Airport. Picture: NCA NewsWire / James Gourley

T3 at Melbourne airport is a mess and it’s apparently better now than it was earlier. Poor guy at bag drop told us it was because they only had 2 people in the bag room sorting them for flights earlier. Nightmare.

— Christine (@Chrissaayyyyy) April 11, 2022

Similar issues have also been happening at Melbourne, Brisbane and Gold Coast airports.

At Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport on Monday, Easter and Grand Prix travellers dealt with long delays and numerous changes to flights, with Nine reporting that people slept at the airport overnight so they did not miss their flight.

The issues the airport was already dealing with were exacerbated when a Qantas luggage belt broke down, causing further frustrations for customers.

Melbourne Airport just now. A @Qantas luggage belt has broken so along with all their staffing issues, no one can get their bags on planes either. 😬 pic.twitter.com/x90wNzIPhG

— Dr Kirstin Ferguson (@kirstinferguson) April 10, 2022

melbourne airport an absolute mess. 6 gate changes in 6 hours, flights cancelled at 4 in the morning, baggage belt broken so check in has been suspended. no bags on or off flights. mechanical issues. you name it. plz get me home x

— g 🇦🇲 (@KortianG) April 11, 2022

These issues could continue until the end of the month with the Anzac Day long weekend still to come and school holidays in Queensland (April 18), Victoria and NSW (April 25) finishing later in April.

The advice to customers from Sydney and Melbourne airports and Qantas has been to arrive two hours before a domestic flight to ensure they catch their plane on time.

But many travellers have reported lengthy delays at check-in, through the terminal, as well as further setbacks when they wait to board their flight, on the tarmac, in the air and with their baggage after they arrive.

“The Easter and Anzac Day long weekends are going to be busy again, and we’re advising travellers to arrive at least two hours before domestic flights and three hours before international,” a Sydney Airport spokesperson told Nine.

@Qantas not covering yourself in glory here. Boarded over an hour late at Melbourne airport for flight to Perth, now been sitting on tarmac for over an hour. Inside the airport they’re literally announcing new departure times for delayed flights.. (1/3)

— Fran Lawrence (@franjlawrence) April 11, 2022

Half an hour late out of Melbourne, an extra half an hour in the air circling Sydney, and now we’re just sitting on the tarmac in the middle of nowhere. I just want to go home 😢

— Christine (@Chrissaayyyyy) April 11, 2022

Tracey, I've been waiting four days to hear anything from @Qantas about my luggage on a flight from Melb. What's your advice - please DM.

— Jason Om (@jason_om) April 11, 2022

A high level of absenteeism among workers due to Covid protocols and mandatory isolation is one of the main issues, leaving airports understaffed during one of the busiest times of the year.

“You have 15 per cent of cabin crew typically on reserve on backup, on standby, where you are getting up to 30 per cent of people not turning up because of Covid or close contacts,” Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce told The Today show on Monday.

Sydney Airport is also facing similar staffing issues according to its chief executive Geoff Culbert.

“We are 30 per cent down in our security staff at the moment,” he told Sunrise on Tuesday.

“We are operating at 60 per cent of staff capacity and dealing with 80 to 90 per cent of pre- COVID-19 passenger numbers.”

Mr Joyce has also blamed returning travellers, in part, for the long delays, calling them “not match fit” on Friday and “rusty” on ABC News Breakfast on Monday.