High winds, cold front cause chaos at Sydney airport as dozens of flights cancelled
Pilots and ground staff have threatened budget airline Jetstar with Christmas strike action. Photo: AAP
Dozens of flights in and out of Sydney airport have been cancelled as strong and damaging winds batter Sydney and southern NSW.
Winds gusts of up to 70km/h at the airport and an impending cold front moving over eastern NSW on Saturday morning forced the major airlines to cancel flights.
Sydney Airport posted on Twitter just after 11am they were “experiencing delays” and for all passengers to check with their airlines for updates on flight departures and arrivals.
✈️ We’re experiencing delays today due to the strong winds in Sydney. Please check with your airline for flight status: https://t.co/6RJl1uGRKl
— Sydney Airport (@SydneyAirport) July 13, 2019
Qantas, Jetstar, Tigerair, Rex and Virgin all cancelled multiple flights into and out of the airport located in Mascot in the city’s south.
Virgin warned travellers the winds could result in some changes to flights.
“We’ll do everything to get you on your way as quickly & safely as possible,” the airline posted to Twitter.
“If you’re flying, be sure to keep an eye on your flight status.”
Strong winds in #Sydney today may result in some changes to your flight. We’ll do everything to get you on your way as quickly & safely as possible. If you’re flying, be sure to keep an eye on your flight status. https://t.co/6NblPWkVvR
— Virgin Australia (@VirginAustralia) July 12, 2019
Domestic passengers were left waiting in terminals for up to three hours before flights could depart while travellers on several international flights experienced lesser waiting times of up to 1.5 hours.
However, the severe weather warning for damaging winds remains in place for Sydney, the Illawarra, Southern Tablelands, Snowy Mountains and south coast regions throughout Saturday.
The NSW weather bureau issued an alert at 7am on Saturday, with forecasts of a second cold front hitting parts of Sydney and southern NSW on Sunday, with blizzards in the alpine regions about 1600 metres.
#NSWweather Damaging winds possible through parts of eastern NSW today associated with a cold front. A second cold front passing through tomorrow could also bring damaging winds to parts of the southeast. Latest warnings at https://t.co/k8OgxurlXB pic.twitter.com/OWqXM50mGe
— Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) July 12, 2019
The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service recommends that back country travel be postponed until conditions improve, the weather bureau said.
Meanwhile, strong winds lashed parts of the state earlier in the week, with Thredbo recording a peak wind gust of 115km/h on Thursday as storm fronts dumped more snow for school holiday skiers.
Pow Day ❄️🙌😍 Storm total now at 62cm and counting 💪 With all this snow we’re OPENING Antons tomorrow 🙏 pic.twitter.com/uc1MMYuDSc
— Thredbo (@ThredboResort) July 13, 2019
A peak wind gust of 96km/h also hit Moss Vale in the Southern Highlands on Thursday.
