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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Elias Visontay and Khaled Al Khawaldeh

Queues from 4am as Australian airports brace for peak delays over Easter long weekend

Queues of people are seen at the Qantas departure terminal at Sydney airport domestic terminal
Senior executives at Sydney airport have been ordered to leave their offices, along with retail and IT workers, to help manage departure queues. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP

Queues and delays at Australian airports are expected to be at their worst ahead of the Easter long weekend, but security providers have warned the chaos stemming from staff shortages will continue into the second half of the year.

More than 82,000 people were expected to travel through Sydney airport’s domestic terminals on Thursday – the busiest day since March 2020 – while 350,000 were predicted to visit over the course of the long weekend. The travel peak comes as the airport struggles with security staffing that is 70% of pre-pandemic levels.

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