Travellers face long delays at Canberra airport after airspace temporarily closed

Early morning travellers have been hit with long delays after a technical issue at the control tower lead authorities to stop any flights from leaving or landing at the airport.

Canberra Airport has grounded all flights after a technical issue causing major delays for passengers. Picture: Terry Cunningham

Travellers heading in and out of Canberra airport are facing significant delays after an electrical fault closed the airspace.

Early flights were unable to take off and limited flights arrived on the tarmac on Thursday morning.

Just two of the eight flights that were scheduled to depart before 9am made it into the air with delays expected to carry through into the morning as the backlog is cleared.

An Airservices Australia spokesperson said the delay was a safety precaution after an issue with radio frequency in the air control tower was detected.

A technical issue resulted in delayed flights. Picture: Terry Cunningham

Some flights departing from Canberra airport still delayed as of 9.40am on Thursday morning. Picture: Canberra Airport

“An electrical fault at our Canberra Airport Tower impacted our radio frequencies,” the spokesperson said.

“There was no radar issue.”

The spokesperson added that safety is the Airservices’ “number one remit”.

There's major delays at Canberra airport this morning, with many early flights unable to take off, and limited arrivals.

It's unclear what's caused the disruption.

Two flights have departed ... Linkairways to Wollongong and Sydney.

Qantas has cancelled 2 flights to Sydney.

— Julian Abbott 💉💉💉💉 (@JulianBAbbott) May 24, 2023

The issue was resolved by on-site electricians and radio frequencies restored just before 9am with flights now able to arrive and depart from the airport.

A passenger shared his frustration at the delays on social media saying it looked like a long wait ahead.

A passenger vented his frustration on social media. Picture: Terry Cunningham

“Looking like a long day, Canberra airport currently closed,” he tweeted just before 7am.

The NCA NewsWire has contacted Canberra Airport for comment.