Sydney Airport closes all but one runway as a safety precaution

Travellers planning to fly out of Sydney Airport are being told to expect delays as powerful winds force the airport to operate from just one runway.

Sydney Airport will only operate one runway due to high winds. Picture: Alamy

Travellers planning to fly out of Sydney Airport are being told to expect delays as powerful winds force the airport to operate from just one runway.

Airservices Australia is expected to enact single runway operations on/off at the airport on Tuesday with “airborne and ground delays expected”.

It said the decision is purely weather and safety-related to safeguard the travelling public.

“It is recommended that passengers reach out to their airlines,” an Airservices Australia spokesperson said.

Sydney Airport to operate from one runway amid strong winds. Picture: Alamy

Travellers flying out of Sydney Airport are being told to expect delays. Picture: NCA Newswire / Gaye Gerard

When crosswinds become too strong and gusty, Airservices swaps from the parallel runways to the cross Runway25 east-west cross runway where this wind is all essentially down the runway.

It has nightly stakeholder meetings to work out an air traffic management plan each night prior to the next day’s operations and makes the safety call in co-operation with airline partners and the Bureau of Metrology.

A blast of hot, dry air is sweeping across the east coast of Australia. Picture: Windy

The single runway decision comes as wind gusts of more than 100 km/h were reported in Sydney on Monday night, with more than 3,000 properties without power on Tuesday morning, according to Ausgrid’s latest outage data.

More than 3000 properties were left without power on Tuesday morning. Picture AusGrid. JPG

When crosswinds become too strong and gusty, Airservices swaps from the parallel runways to the cross Runway25 east-west cross runway where this wind is all essentially down the runway. Picture: Alamy

Before 6am the temperature reached 27C and the heat is expected to keep temperatures up in both NSW and Queensland throughout the day before a southerly change comes through on Wednesday.

“The hottest air will then shift further north on Tuesday, with temperatures likely reaching the mid-to-high 30s in parts of northern NSW and southern Qld,” a Weather Zone meteorologist said.

It will create trouble for firefighters in both states where dozens of fires are burning out of control.

In Queensland a total fire ban is in place across about 80 per cent of Queensland, with 71 fires still burning as of 7am on Tuesday.

A high of 34C is forecast for the capital city of Brisbane with a north-easterly wind expected to reach speeds of up to 30km/h by the middle of the day.