Flight cancellations amid wild weather force hundreds of Swifties onto Qantas Airbus

Fans have reported forking out hundreds to nab last minute flights to Sydney and others have been forced to board a Qantas Airbus after dangerous weather cancelled flights.

Four Qantas flights out of Melbourne and seven flights out of Queensland been cancelled ahead of Swift’s first Sydney concert due to wild weather.

A thunderstorm forecast to hit Sydney on Friday afternoon forced Airservices Australia to limit the number of arrivals and departures in the city for all airlines.

A Qantas spokesperson said the airline cancelled four flights from Melbourne to Sydney as a result.

But Swifties can shake off any travel stress as Qantas has sent in an Airbus A380 to ensure they get to the harbour city this evening.

“The A380 will carry 485 passengers, the equivalent of almost three Boeing 737 flights which normally operate this route,” Qantas said in a statement.

“While this would normally be used to support our international network on flights to places like London and LA, given the incredibly high demand into Sydney today, it is being brought in to support the domestic operation.”

Taylor Swift will perform her first of four shows in Sydney on Friday night. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jake Nowakowski

Passengers unable to board the Airbus have been reaccomodated on other Qantas services.

The Airbus will depart from Melbourne at 5pm and arrive at Sydney International Terminal at 6.40pm.

A second storm expected to roll into Brisbane on Friday evening has lead to the further cancellation of at least four flights.

Another three flights from the Gold Coast to Sydney have been cancelled.

Among the seven flight cancellations were two Virgin flights scheduled to depart from Brisbane at 4.05pm and 7.35pm, and two Jetstar flights scheduled to take off at 5pm and 7.30pm.

Gold Coast Airport has rescheduled three flights to Saturday morning after the 2.15pm, 2.25pm and 7.20pm flights were all cancelled on Friday.

Swiftie Megan told ABC Radio Brisbane Breakfast she had to cough up $700 on last-minute flights after her Brisbane-to-Sydney flight was cancelled hours before Friday night’s concert.

“I woke up this morning to an email from Virgin saying that my flight this afternoon had been cancelled,” she said.

“When I called them, they did say that (the storms) were the reason for the cancellation.”

The airline rebooked her onto a flight to Sydney on Sunday, but her tickets are to the Saturday night show.

“I’ve had to rebook flights with Qantas for tomorrow morning for pretty much the double the price of what I originally paid for them,” she said.

“They were $700 one way for tomorrow morning.

Severe thunderstorms likely across eastern #NSW on Friday with damaging winds, large hail and heavy rainfall. Destructive winds and giant hail are also possible. Latest: https://t.co/4W35o8i7wJpic.twitter.com/RgrS91g7U3

— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) February 22, 2024

“The flights leaving on Friday were $1500 one way forms Brisbane to Sydney.”

“$1500 one way?!,” ABC host Loretta Ryan exclaimed. “That’s disgusting!”.

Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Stephan Tesanac said the storm in Sydney was not expected to pass until Saturday morning.

“These storms could potentially bring between 20-40mm of rainfall,” he told The Daily Telegraph.

“But the main thing is the risk of damaging winds.”

Damaging wind gusts of up to 120km/h are anticipated.

Swift will perform her three-hour long Eras Tour show for 80,000 fans each night in Sydney from Friday to Monday.

High-end severe storms for Sydney, Blue Mountains, Central Coast, and Illawarra have been forecast for Friday night with giant hail, locally destructive winds and heavy rain, according to NSW Incident Alerts.

A maximum of 36 degrees is forecast in the day, with steamy conditions promoting stormy weather in the evening.

Those heading to Sydney Olympic Park on Friday night are being urged to prepare for the wild weather when considering their travel route and outfit choices.

Virgin and Jetstar have also been contacted for comment on the flight cancellations.

Originally published as Flight cancellations amid wild weather force hundreds of Swifties onto Qantas Airbus