Storms plus staff shortages set to add up to Friday flight chaos

A killer combination of bad weather, runway restrictions and air traffic controller shortages is impacting flights at Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane airports.

Airlines are warning of disruption today due to bad weather forecast for Sydney and Melbourne and air traffic controller shortages in Brisbane. Picture: NCA Newswire/Gaye Gerard

Airlines are warning travellers to expect delays and disruption along the east coast on Friday due to a killer combination of bad weather, runway restrictions and air traffic control shortages.

Melbourne Airport has been reduced to single runway operations twice already, and Sydney Airport was down to one runway for an hour during the morning peak.

Virgin Australia confirmed 38 flights had been cancelled on Friday, with more expected to follow as storms developed and air traffic controller shortages hit hard this afternoon.

Qantas also confirmed a number of flights through Sydney and Melbourne had been delayed or cancelled, with the relevant information being communicated to passengers.

A Virgin Australia spokeswoman said they were monitoring “an adverse weather forecast” that could result in storms at multiple ports and impacts throughout the network.

“In the event of disruption, we will endeavour to proactively communicate with guests in advance,” said the spokeswoman.

“But we encourage guests travelling on Friday to check the status of their flight prior to travel.”

She added that the safety of guests and crew was their “highest priority”.

A Sydney Airport spokeswoman confirmed airlines had cancelled a number of domestic flights “due to strong winds and scattered storm cells”.

“There may be some delays throughout the day,” said the spokeswoman.

“We encourage passengers to check with their airline regarding the status of their flight.”

The single runway operations in Sydney meant as few as 40 aircraft an hour could land or takeoff, compared to the usual 73 or 74.

With as much as 40 per cent of domestic traffic routed through Sydney, disruption at the airport generally caused a knock-on effect across airline networks.

More to come.

Originally published as Storms plus staff shortages set to add up to Friday flight chaos