Queues were out of the door at Sydney Airport on Thursday morning as travellers and staff battled the busiest day at the terminals since the pandemic struck.
Passengers were queuing for hours since the airport opened at 4am, with the domestic terminals expected to see 82,000 people over the day.
The last time there were more than 80,000 travellers at Sydney Airport in one day was March 6, 2020.
The airport's CEO apologised to travellers but stressed "every lever available" was being pulled to improve the situation, including senior executives being deployed to manage queues.
Delays eased in the afternoon but dozens more flights were scheduled to depart into the evening.
Speaking on the campaign trail, Prime Minister Scott Morrison acknowledged the "frustrating" delays but implored people to trust that the airlines were doing all they could to keep up.
"This is what returning to normal looks like," he told the media while campaigning in Tasmania.
"As the country comes up again … our tourism and travel industry [will face] some congestion issues along the way, there's going to be some setbacks as the staff come back in and the systems build up again.
"I just ask people to show some patience."
However former Qantas staff and the Transport Workers Union (TWU) say airlines failed to plan for Easter and are calling for an independent body to oversee aviation operations.
Former Qantas senior airline operator Don Dickson, who worked for the company for 20 years, said he had never seen anything like today's chaos.
"It is a sad day to see this happening ... there is absolutely no leadership here at all."
Former Qantas baggage handler Graham McKay said the thousands of staff who were made redundant during the pandemic should be re-employed to alleviate the pressure.
"We'd love to work and we want to clear this backlog ... we had days where we were short-staffed, but we worked around it because of our experience," he said.
In 2021 Qantas outsourced more than 2,000 ground crew jobs, mostly to Swissport, which the Federal Court later ruled was a breach of the Fair Work Act.
The TWU's national secretary, Michael Kaine, said this meant thousands of skilled workers were "sitting at home" during this chaotic period.
"They are ready willing and able to work. They could be helping ease this congestion," he said.
Mr Kaine said it was his understanding that none of the 2,000 staff made redundant had been able to secure work with Swissport.
A forecast of daily passenger numbers released by Sydney Airport shows another 79,000 people are anticipated to pack the domestic terminal tomorrow.
Numbers could drop to 55,000 and 62,000 on Saturday and Sunday respectively, before spiking to 72,000 on Monday.
Airlines have blamed COVID-19 for a shortage of security personnel, ground handlers and other staff, with 20 per cent of daily absences due to either COVID infections or close contact rules.
The NSW government recently added air transport services to the list of critical jobs exempt from COVID-19 close contact isolation rules.
Earlier this week, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said inexperienced travellers were also contributing to delays as they were unfamiliar with security protocols.
"Passengers are rusty in travelling," he told the ABC.
But Mr McKay said it has "nothing to do with uneducated travellers" and comes down to minimal, inexperienced staff.
Sydney Airport chief executive Geoff Culbert said rebuilding the workforce to pre-pandemic levels would take time, a problem exacerbated by a tight jobs market.
"The roles that are being recruited are skilled, specialist roles and we won't compromise on safety and security," Mr Culbert said.
Mr Culbert said people should arrive at Sydney Airport at least two hours before any domestic flights over Easter.
