Australian travelers experienced more disruption at the airport on the first day of the winter school holidays.
Millions of passengers are expected to fly to and from the country’s largest airports in the next two weeks, warning people about long waits.
Airport authorities have welcomed travelers’ return but warned passengers to plan ahead and arrive at the terminal at the recommended times.
Frustrated passengers filmed long lines for baggage drop and check-in counters at Melbourne airport on Saturday morning as the holiday rush kicked in.
It followed similar scenes on Friday when it was reported that some passengers had waited for hours at the airport after their flights were canceled or delayed.
Camera IconSydney Airport recently tried to lure people into the airline industry to fill its 5000 vacancies. NCA NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone Credit: News Corp Australia
More than 2.1 million people are expected to pass through the airport between June 24 and July 17, with airlines forecasting 1.6 million domestic travelers and 447,000 international passengers.
The same number of passengers are expected to fly in and out of Sydney Airport between June 27 and July 17, compared to 1.8 million travelers over the Easter holidays.
Sydney Airport was also busy on Saturday, with some passengers taking to social media to report that their flights had been overbooked and their luggage held up.
Sydney Airport CEO Geoff Culbert said their forecasts showed school holidays to get even busier than in April.
“It’s great to see continued demand for air travel, but we won’t condone the fact that the terminals will be busy during school holidays and there will be queues,” he said.
Camera IconTravellers experienced more inconvenience at the airport on the first day of the winter school holidays. NCA NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone Credit: News Corp Australia
Sydney Airport has recently tried to attract people to the airline industry to fill its 5000 vacancies.
There have been widespread and recurring reports of chaos at the Australian airport in recent months, particularly during peak hours during the Easter holidays and the Queen’s Day long weekend.
Airports and airlines have said a critical labor shortage after the pandemic is the cause.
Melbourne Airport CEO Lorie Argus said staffing in the sector continues to be a problem for “some operators”, particularly in baggage and ground handling.
Camera IconAirports and airlines have said a critical shortage of workers after the pandemic is behind the disruption. NCA NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone Credit: News Corp Australia
Ailing passengers traveling during the holiday reported instances of their flights being canceled, being separated from their bags, and, in some cases losing their luggage completely.
The Transport Workers Union, which represents parts of the airline industry, has attributed much of the disruption to Qantas’ legally controversial outsourcing of ground and baggage handling tasks to outside companies.
Qantas has apologized to customers who have been delayed in collecting their luggage in recent months and said staff shortages were the cause.
Airport authorities encourage passengers to arrive about two hours earlier for domestic and three hours for an international flight.