Australian travellers faced multiple airline cancellations Christmas Eve. Sydney Airport has told local media at least 80 of 500 flights that were scheduled to depart or arrive the airport today were cancelled.
The Guardian Australia reports a total of 117 flight between Melbourne and Sydney were cancelled. Pre-pandemic SYD-MEL was the second busiest domestic air route in the world, and re-entered the 10 back in April.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports 52 flights in and out of Melbourne were cancelled, with 35 of those already announced and rescheduled on 20 December. 45 flights out of around 400 from Brisbane have also been cancelled today.
Jetstar told ABC News Australia that a large number of their staff had to test and isolate. A Jetstar spokesperson said, “Unfortunately like many people in Sydney and Melbourne, a large number of our frontline team members are being required to test and isolate as close contacts given the increasing number of cases in the general community, and as a result we have had to make some late adjustments to our schedule. We appreciate the frustration this causes, especially as customers are travelling for Christmas, and sincerely apologise for the impact these changes are having on travel plans. We are working to minimise any delays and re-accommodating passengers on flights as close as possible to their original departure times across both Jetstar and Qantas services.”