Easter chaos plagues airport travellers as delays set to continue
The nation’s airports are bracing for the busiest day in two years as people plan to get away for the Easter long weekend with travellers facing major delays.
While Sydney Airport is at the centre of the chaos, Brisbane Airport is also under pressure as a surge in travel demand coincides with problems associated with airport staff supply.
Last week, Brisbane Airport recorded its busiest day in two years, with 52,000 people passing through the domestic terminal. It is expected to match or surpass that record over the Easter weekend.
In Sydney on Wednesday morning traffic around the domestic terminal was backed up for a kilometre, while queues outside the terminal snaked back for up to 100 metres.
Sydney Airport chief executive Geoff Culbert acknowledged passengers would be trapped in long queues as they wait to board flights.
āI want to start by apologising to them for any inconvenience,ā he told Sydney radio 2GB on Wednesday.
āItās another busy day,ā he said.
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The delays to processing passengers were primarily due toĀ staff shortages.
āEveryone in the aviation industry has been rebuilding their business from the ground up,ā Culbert said, adding it was impossible to recruit enough staff and the airportās security provider had 100 vacancies.
āBut then you add on that the Covid issues ā on any given day up to 20 per cent of staff canāt come to work due to Covid,ā he said.
Security queues were moving well at T2 domestic terminal on Wednesday morning, while check-in wait times were peaking at about half an hour, a Sydney Airport spokesperson told AAP.
Itās expected that more than 80,000 domestic passengers will pass through the airport on Thursday as people get away for the Easter long weekend.
Before the Easter school holidayās began, Brisbane Airport warned there would be congestion at the terminal.
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āTo make the airport experience stress-free and help ensure everyone gets away on time, weāre encouraging domestic travellers to arrive two hours ahead of their scheduled departure,ā Brisbane Airport Corporationās Rachel Bronish said.
āIf you are planning on driving to the airport, we recommend you jump online and book your car parking spot as far in advance as possible as parking demand has surged beyond usual numbers in recent weeks.ā
āGround staff and security personnel will be working hard to minimise congestion, but we ask passengers to pack their patience and be courteous throughout their travels.ā
Culbert said Sydney airport would usually boost its resources to cater for increased holiday traffic but was struggling to find staff.
āWeāre doing the best we can ā weāre mobilising staff from all different areas of the airport ā¦ but the bottom line is when youāre operating at 60 per cent of staff capacity and youāre back at almost 100 per cent of passenger numbers ā then thereās going to be a shortfall.ā
Passengers are advised to arrive at least two hours before a domestic flight and three hours before an international flight.
Culbert advised people to check-in online if possible and avoid bringing checked baggage if they could.
Other airports are preparing for increased traffic over the Easter weekend, with expectations it will be the busiest time of the last two years.
Adelaide Airport expects 25,000 people through its recently expanded terminal on Thursday and again on Friday.
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