Flights cancelled at Sydney airport due to strong winds

AIRLINES are dealing with a backlog of stranded passengers as wild winds continue to ground flights at Sydney airport.

The departure board at Sydney Airport on Friday morning. Picture: Nathaniel Bane/Twitter

SYDNEY Airport passengers continue to face delays, with strong winds showing no signs of easing and 50 flights already cancelled on Friday.

The interruptions follow wild winds on Thursday which forced the grounding of more than 70 flights and the closure of two of three runways.

Gusts of 57km/h were recorded at Kingsford Smith on Friday morning and the expectation was they would increase later in the day, a spokeswoman for Sydney Airport told AAP.

Two runways were open but it was likely planes would be reduced to using a single runway by Friday afternoon, Air Services Australia spokeswoman Sarah Fulton told AAP.

Lengthy delays at @SydneyAirport due to more wild weather @sunriseon7 @7NewsSydney @Yahoo7 pic.twitter.com/Oqu00IsFYN

— Samantha Brett (@samanthabrett) September 14, 2017

The airport is already working to clear Thursday’s backlog, a process that could take days and with the effects starting to be felt across the country.

“Because of yesterday’s conditions at Sydney we are starting to see a flow-on impact on the network and that will continue today,” Ms Fulton said.

As the airport works to clear the lag, a peak industry group has called for the cap on the number of flights allowed in and out of the airport every hour to be eased.

At present, there is a federal government-imposed cap of 20 aircraft movements per quarter hour.

Tourism and Transport Forum chief executive Margy Osmond says the cap doesn’t belong in the 21st century, with its negative impacts felt far beyond Sydney’s suburbs.

12 hours later, Sydney still wants to dance. hope they don't run out of coffee #SydneyAirport #Delays @Qantas pic.twitter.com/A8fcKxp5mr

— Nathaniel Bane (@natbane) September 14, 2017

“For the airport to recover after these wind events we need the capacity to get rid of the 15-minute caps at Sydney Airport so we can land the plans we need to,” she told reporters on Friday.

“It doesn’t just affect Sydney it affects the whole country, the entire national network of airports.”

Ms Osmond said the critical issue with the cap was its lack of flexibility and suggested a system more in line with that of London’s Heathrow Airport.

“Heathrow Airport has a cap on the number of planes, except it’s an annual cap, not a 15-minute cap or an hour control ... we’re simply saying let’s make the airport as productive and flexible as it needs to be.”

Passengers flying out of Sydney airport on Friday are advised to check with their airline for delays and cancellations.

Wild winds have thrown Sydney airport into chaos, grounding flights and causing major delays. #sun7 pic.twitter.com/Fy8AFiVyOd

— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) September 14, 2017