Sydney Airport plunged into chaos, flights delayed as damaging 90kmh winds rock southeast NSW

A major airport has been rocked by a combination of strong winds reaching up to 90kmh and a global IT outage which crippled flight plans.

Strong winds reaching up to 90kmh have plunged Sydney Airport into even further chaos after a global IT outage, with travellers warned to brace for further delays.

There were multiple delayed and some cancelled domestic flights departing Sydney Airport on Saturday afternoon due to the weather.

“Due to high winds Airservices Australia are operating our east-west runway, which may cause some delays throughout the afternoon,” a Sydney Airport spokesperson said.

“Passengers are advised to check with their airline regarding the status of their flight.”

It comes after airport and airline IT systems were caught up in the global outage on Friday, grounding planes and sending thousands of flyers’ travel plans into disarray.

A severe weather warning for multiple parts of the eastern coast of NSW was issued by the Bureau of Meteorology on Saturday.

Damaging wind warnings are in place for much of south-eastern Australia. Picture: Supplied / BOM via X

A severe weather warning covers multiple regions of NSW. Picture: BOM

Winds reached over 90kmh in some regions.

The bureau warns a strengthening north-westerly flow ahead of an approaching cold front is bringing vigorous winds to inland and coastal areas.

These winds are forecast to shift south-westerly from late afternoon and ease from the west during the late evening, into Sunday morning.Damaging winds of up to 100kmh - with peak gusts reaching 130kmh - have been forecast in alpine areas of NSW.

The bureau has also warned of possible “blizzard” conditions.

âš  Damaging Wind Warnings are in place for much of south-eastern Australia today. Winds have reached over 90km/h in some places & are expected to remain strong across parts of #Vic, #SA, #NSW & #ACT. The cool, windy weather will linger into Sunday.
More: https://t.co/85k0GQbOxzpic.twitter.com/cOmsaE1VWn

— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) July 20, 2024

In the south coast, winds averaging 60-70kmh with peak gusts of around 100kmh are likely.

Locations which may be affected include Newcastle, Sydney, Katoomba, Wollongong, Nowra, Goulburn, Cooma, and Thredbo Top Station.

Gayle Baker had been celebrating her 60th birthday in Sydney after her son gifted her a trip away to mark the special occasion.

After five days in Sydney she was meant to head back to Queensland on Friday when chaos struck.

Travellers have been warned to expect further delays as strong winds cause chaos at Sydney Airport. There were multiple delayed and some cancelled domestic flights departing Sydney Airport on Saturday afternoon due to the weather. Picture: NewsWire

Travellers have been warned to expect further delays as strong winds cause chaos at Sydney Airport. There were multiple delayed and some cancelled domestic flights departing Sydney Airport on Saturday afternoon due to the weather. Picture: NewsWire

Damaging winds are expected to lash Sydney until late on Saturday evening and should ease by Sunday morning Picture: NewsWire

“We got here (Sydney airport) and we didn’t have any messages from Jetstar at all,” she said.

“We were lining up for two and a half hours when our flight got cancelled.”

Ms Baker said her son had to scramble to find them accommodation, which they walked to as they weren’t “paying any more money than (they) needed to”.

At 5am on Saturday the pair heard they had been put on a 12.20pm flight back home, but after waiting in line at the bag drop for more than an hour, their flight was cancelled once again.

Ms Baker said she has her “fingers crossed” their next flight, which is scheduled for later on Saturday afternoon, goes ahead.

“Fingers crossed that flight still goes hopefully,” she said.

“It’s not been a very pleasant 48 hours,” she said.

“Lots of standing and waiting.”

Disgruntled passengers have also flocked to the comments of Jetstar’s X page, claiming they’ve been left “stranded”.

“Still can’t get through to you, we’ve been stranded since yesterday morning,” one user commented.

“We received no assistance with accommodation & given no option to fly today so another night at our expense. How do we arrange reimbursement for the 2 nights & expenses?” another wrote.

Virgin and Rex bag check-ins at Sydney Airport appeared to be operating smoothly on Saturday afternoon.

A Sydney Airport spokesperson earlier said there may be “knock on impacts” to individual airlines as a result of Friday’s outage.

“Airport systems are online and operations are normal, however there are some knock-on impacts to individual airlines,” a spokesperson said.

“Anyone travelling today should check with their airline regarding the status of their flight.”

Jetstar were the most affected by the outage, and it’s understood the airline are having issues with baggage, with customers still able to check in their bags, but the process taking longer than normal.

A Jetstar Australia statement confirmed the airline has begun to stabilise, with flights expected to operate as scheduled on Saturday.

“Please proceed to the Airport as usual. There may be a small number of flights impacted due to operational reasons. If your flight is impacted, we will communicate directly to you using the contact details on your booking,” a statement on the Jetstar Australia website said.

The Jetstar communication system used to communicate with customers was reportedly affected in the outage yesterday, leaving the airline unable to contact customers.

Travellers have been warned to expect further delays as strong winds cause chaos at Sydney Airport. Picture: NewsWire