School holiday chaos: Strong winds cause cancellation of 100 flights out of Sydney
Nearly 100 flights have been cancelled on the eve of the school holidays as strong winds throttle operations at Sydney Airport.
Queues of people are seen at the Virgin and Jetstar departure terminal at at Sydney Domestic Airport. (AAP Image/Bianca De Marchi)
The cancelled flights will be spread throughout Friday as the airport tries to manage using its one east-west runway, rather than twin north-south tarmacs.
Brisbane Airport said there were some delays in flights from Sydney. Most were in the order of 10 to 15 minutes but some as much as an hour.
Air traffic control had advised the airport it could only use one runway due to strong westerly winds forecast throughout the day, the last of the term for NSW public schools.
An airport spokeswoman said there would be some flight delays and cancellations as a result of the weather conditions.
“Airlines are working hard to re-accommodate passengers and get them on their way,” she said.
“If passengers have questions regarding the status of their flight, we encourage them to contact their airline.”
The cancellations, representing roughly one in eight aircraft movements on Friday, did not affect international flights.
It comes a day after sickness among air traffic controllers affected services along the eastern seaboard.
