Passengers at Sydney Airport are facing a fresh wave of delays as ongoing staffing issues plague the airport.<\/p>\n
Airservices Australia has confirmed rostering issues with their airport\u2019s air traffic control staff are continuing to persist, following travel chaos erupting in recent weeks.<\/p>\n
A spokeswoman said air traffic flow management measures had been put in place affecting departures from the airport, which result in greater spacing between takeoffs.<\/p>\n
\u201cAirservices Australia is working to keep delays at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport to a minimum this afternoon with measures affecting departures in place to safely manage aviation demand,\u201d the spokeswoman said.<\/p>\n
The Daily Telegraph reports that major airline Qantas is preparing for 33 delays of up to an hour this afternoon, while others are expecting delays to persist across the day.<\/p>\n
The recent issues, centring on the airports control towers, have resulted in frustrating delays for passengers using the airport- and a knock-on effect to terminals across the nation.<\/p>\n
On certain days in recent weeks, more than 150 flights were impacted, with a shortage of air traffic controllers at the root of the problem.<\/p>\n
\u201cWorking with airlines and our union partners, we are committed to improving the consistency of our performance,\u201d the Airservices Australia spokeswoman added.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are building a larger pool of standby air traffic controllers to increase our staffing contingency numbers at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport, reduce overtime and deliver stable rosters.<\/p>\n
\u201cAirservices acknowledges and thanks our dedicated controllers for their professionalism and work through this challenging period.\u201d<\/p>\n
As of about 4pm local time, all domestic departures at the airport were expected to depart on time \u2013 although services to Melbourne (4.30pm). Canberra (4.35pm) and Adelaide (5.25pm) have been cancelled.<\/p>\n
The day\u2019s remaining international departures were also scheduled to depart on time.<\/p>\n
Qantas and Virgin Airlines have been approached for comment.<\/p>\n
More to come<\/p>\n