Passengers at Sydney Airport faced extended delays on Monday morning as fog, and technical issues brought operations to a standstill.
It’s been reported that lines for terminal security had snaked well outside the entrance of Australia’s busiest airport, leaving passengers standing with luggage on a cold winter morning for up to 40 minutes.
Announcing over the speakers, a spokesman apologised to the customers waiting in line in the midst of confusion, saying, “We appreciate this is not how you want to spend your Monday morning.”
My friend in the security queue at Sydney Airport this morning. Can’t even get into the building 😬. pic.twitter.com/HYaJZJPvVv
— Tanya (@GongGasGirl) July 24, 2022
In a statement provided to the Sydney Morning Herald, a spokeswoman for Sydney Airport said that a thick morning fog and a technical issue in one of the domestic terminals were responsible for delays.
“We’re sorry about the queues and are working with airlines to get everyone on their way,” she said.
“Heavy fog affected flights earlier this morning, and a technical issue has meant we’re temporarily operating one less security lane than normal in T2 Domestic terminal,” Spokesperson for Sydney Airport
Delays add stress to stretched Sydney airport operations
The events on Monday morning only added to the recent delays and cancellations in both domestic and international flights at Sydney Airport.
As Travel Radar reported, one of Australia’s major airlines Qantas only clocked 60 per cent of flights in May arriving and departing on time, with 7% cancelled entirely. They said that the recent spike in COVID cases among crew members and staff said was to blame for disrupted operations.
On Friday, it was revealed by CNN that Sydney Airport had ranked 9th in the world for the unwanted title of most flight delays (occurring 34.2% of the time) and 6th for most cancellations, with six per cent of flights failing to leave the tarmac.
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