Sydney Airport was restricted to one runway for a record number of hours last month due to wild winds which caused an uptick in delays and cancellations.Credit:Photo:Brook Mitchell
There were 18 additional hours that restricted airline teams from accessing the tarmac due to thunderstorms.
The delays do not bode well for the industry heading into the busy Christmas season after a year when the sector has experienced ongoing complaints from customers over flight delays. The lack of flight availability and delays have led some consumers to choose to catch the train interstate where possible or to pay increasingly high ticket prices to secure a seat,particularly on services between Sydney and Melbourne and Sydney and Brisbane.
Airservices is tasked with reducing airport operations on guidance from the Bureau of Meteorology in the event of dangerous weather. Airlines are then responsible for how flight scheduling will proceed.
An Airservices spokesperson confirmed November marked a new record for reduced runway operations at Sydney,but stressed the organisation prioritised safety above schedules.
“Safety is our number one remit. Airservices works closely with the Bureau of Meteorology and our 29 customer airports to advise on the safest possible aircraft flying conditions,” the Airservices spokesperson said.
Sydney airport is bound to a tight curfew and must not exceed 80 flights in any given hour. These restrictions create logistical chaos during a bout of bad weather.
Airbiz modelling conducted in 2019 shows a three-hour weather disruption in the afternoon results in 41 uncleared flights by the time the 11pm curfew kicks in. Those missed flights cause 8000 unintended overnight stays in Sydney,80,000 hours of delays and a backlog of flights that cannot be cleared until 11am the following day.