By Najma Sambul and Elissa Goldstein
Several flights were delayed and passengers’ Christmas travel plans were disrupted after two storms hit Melbourne Airport within the space of four hours on Thursday afternoon, grounding planes and flooding the terminals at Tullamarine.
“Due to the risk of a lightning strike, all aerodrome operations were temporarily suspended,” an airport spokesperson said in a statement at 4pm, after the first storm had passed.
“This afternoon’s storm has resulted in a significant number of water leaks across Melbourne Airport’s terminals and we are currently cleaning up ... This has resulted in delays to a number of inbound and outbound flights.”
The Bureau of Meteorology reported that 59 millimetres of rain had fallen at the airport by 6pm, with 43 millimetres coming down in a space of 25 minutes. By comparison, just 0.8 millimetres was recorded at Olympic Park in Melbourne, “another reminder that heavy rain can be very localised”.
Social media users at the airport shared videos of the storm warning alarm and torrential rain, as water gushed through terminal ceilings and light fixtures, pooling on the floor.
After the airport was hit by a second storm at 5.20pm, staff told passengers to expect delays for the rest of the evening.
The spokesperson said four incoming international flights – one from Hawaii and three from New Zealand – had been diverted to Sydney and Canberra.
“Hopefully it’s the last of the storm, we have a clean-up to do,” he said.
“Ground staff have resumed operations and are working to safely get passengers to their destinations,” he said. “We apologise to passengers for the inconvenience.”
Flooding at Melbourne Airport on Thursday afternoon.Credit: Nine News
The wild weather also impacted suburbs across Melbourne – Nine News reported that Gladstone Park Shopping Centre was flooded, and one Epping family told reporters their Christmas presents had been soaked when their home flooded. In Clyde North, on the south-eastern edge of the city, hailstones could almost be mistaken for a snow flurry.
The Bureau of Meteorology continued to issue severe thunderstorm warnings for some areas across metro Melbourne and Victoria into the early evening, and said heavy rainfall was likely to lead to flash flooding, damaging winds and large hailstones.
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