Flights delays due to weather and staff shortages have created chaos for families during the school holidays, with the Transport Workers' Union (TWU) renewing calls for an independent tribunal to look at structural issues within the sector.
Hundreds of passengers are waiting for answers, with domestic flight delays reported at airports in Adelaide, Sydney and Brisbane.
Dozens of flights were delayed or cancelled at Adelaide Airport today, partly because of low visibility conditions from the fog and residual delays from domestic flights.
Long queues were reported at Sydney Airport this morning. A Qantas spokesperson said severe weather in the state had contributed to the chaos.
"We appreciate how frustrating flight cancellations and delays are for customers with severe weather in New South Wales and a spike in COVID cases for operating crew impacting airline schedules over the past week," they said.
"We had additional crew on stand-by and used larger aircraft on some flights, which allowed us to better respond to these issues and get 85 per cent of our domestic flights to depart within an hour of schedule. Customers on cancelled flights are moved to alternative flights, usually within a few hours."
A Brisbane Airport spokesperson said nine flights scheduled to depart Brisbane today were cancelled, but referred the ABC back to the airlines for the reasons behind the cancellations.
Virgin notes surge in demand, higher than in 2019
A Virgin Australia Group spokesperson was unable to provide the number of flights cancelled but said the airline is experiencing more demand than before the pandemic began.
"The number of travellers flying with us this school holidays has increased by 15 per cent in comparison to 2019 levels, which is significantly higher than the recent Easter holiday period," they said.
"Where possible, Virgin Australia is proactively communicating with guests who have been impacted by a schedule change. In the event that we are unable to offer a suitable recovery option, a full refund or travel credit is being offered."
A Melbourne family has been stuck in Darwin for almost a week after their flight was cancelled and said there was no availability.
This morning the Pagotto family landed in Adelaide only to be told their flight to Melbourne had also been cancelled with no answers to when they would make it home.
"Last Wednesday we were meant to get a flight out of Darwin to return back to Melbourne, but that flight got cancelled due to staff shortages in Darwin Airport," Emma Pagotto said.
"We were basically stranded, we didn't have any accommodation and we couldn't get another flight for another five days.
"[This morning] our flight to Adelaide got delayed in Darwin for two hours because there was a two-hour long line to check our baggage in because there was only one lady to check in Jetstar baggage."
The sisters said the delays and cancellations had "tainted" their holidays.
"It's been a very long process, very difficult trying to figure out how we're going to get home, when we're going to get home," Sophia Pagotto said.
"It almost like glazes over the nice experiences you've had on the holiday, and you just want to get home but you can't."
Adelaide Airport terminals executive general manager Dermot O'Neill said early morning fog had caused 15 flights to be delayed by 30 to 40 minutes today.
He advised travellers to contact their airlines for flight time changes and to arrive early before departure during these school holidays.
"We put additional staff on over the school holidays to help manage through this peak period, so we are prepared for that additional influx of passengers that is present at the moment," he said.
Staff shortages in airport, union
The Transport Workers' Union (TWU) said the workplace system was completely broken in the aviation industry, as it called for the Federal Government to step in to help resolve structural issues within the sector.
"We've had a situation where 2,000 workers were illegally outsourced, they weren't able to get their jobs back," TWU national assistant secretary Nick McIntosh told ABC News Breakfast this morning.
"We've had a situation where cabin crew and pilots have been told either accept cuts to your wages and conditions or we'll cut you to the bare minimum, and that's been able to stand as well."
He said staff shortages across major airlines and in air traffic control had led to dozens of flight cancellations and delays at Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane airports.
"We need the federal government to come in, introduce an independent tribunal to have a look at this whole system and say, 'what are the root causes and what are the binding things we can do to make a difference here?' If we just let the market rip, so to speak, and somehow hope that things will fix themselves, they're not going to because if these wages and conditions in particular persist — the people just won't come back."
Virgin Australia and Melbourne Airport have also been contacted for comment.
