Jetstar customers left stranded after company cancels five flights out of Sydney

HUNDREDS of Sydneysiders attempting to escape for the school holidays have been left stranded after Jetstar was forced to cancel flights.

SYDNEY Airport was teeming with angry passengers this morning after Jetstar was forced to cancel at least five flights due to separate issues including sick crew members and engineering problems.

Queues of people stretched through the city’s airport this morning as they waited to find out if their flight had been cancelled and when they could start their school holiday getaway.

A Jetstar spokesman confirmed to news.com.au at least five flights were delayed or cancelled due to unrelated issues.

JQ 143, from Sydney to the Gold Coast was cancelled today as the plane was unable to make the 10pm Sydney curfew last night.

JQ 503, from Sydney to Melbourne, was cancelled today due to two crew members being sick.

This is also meant JQ 510, due to fly from Melbourne tonight, was also cancelled because of the same crew calling in sick.

JQ 507, from Sydney to Melbourne, and JQ 408, from Sydney to the Gold Coast, were also cancelled today due to failing to meet last night’s curfew.

The spokesman said “teams were working to get every single passenger on the next available flight”.

“We run 400 flights a day so these things are unfortunate but five flights out of 400 isn’t a major issue.”

Chaos at Sydney Airport as Jetstar staff reportedly fall ill. Picture: Supplied

“There is no major issue with our operation today. A couple of minor unrelated issues have meant we had to cancel five flights out of Sydney today,” the Jetstar spokesman said.

“It’s a combination of bad weather in other ports, some crew were unwell and one of our aircraft had a technical issue.

“We will be putting customers on the next available flights.”

The five cancellations come a day after dozens of flights were grounded on Thursday due to a thick cloud of fog that blanketed the city.

Facing two days of cancellations and delays, the budget airline is now receiving plenty of heat on social media.

“Thanks for delaying my flight by 12 hours the day before my brother’s wedding. How can a domestic Darwin-Melb. flight be delayed so long?” one customer wrote.

Another disgruntled passenger was furious at the company’s apparent silence.

“No warning ahead of time, no explanation given. Turned up at the airport only to be told the next flight is in 11 hours. A+ from Jetstar as usual,” he wrote.

One man, due to fly to Melbourne at 8.25am, told 9 News his flight had been pushed to 5pm today, more than eight hours after he was due to leave.

“There was no text message, just a message on the board when I got here,” the customer said. “They still haven’t told me why.”

Virgin and Tiger are also struggling with huge queues after dozens of disgruntled Jetstar passengers desperately try and book a different flight.