Dozens of flights cancelled at Sydney Airport amid critical staffing issue

Dozens of domestic flights at Sydney Airport are cancelled and several others will face hours-long delays because of a shortage of air traffic control staff.

About 30 Qantas and Jetstar flights have been axed and eight Virgin flights were cancelled, as Airservices Australia activates “spacing intervals” for flights arriving and departing Sydney to safely manage operations on Thursday.

Airservices Australia said the measure was triggered after “a number of staff” took short-notice sick and carer’s leave.

“We will keep delays to a minimum and apologise for any impact to our customers and the travelling public,” a spokesperson said.

Airservices Australia said flights could also be impacted in other cities, including Perth and Brisbane.

Stephen Beckett, chief executive of Airlines for Australia and New Zealand, which represents all Australian airlines, was among travellers caught in the delays, which he said were “problematic” and would affect the entire national network.

“Most aircraft fly in and out of Sydney on any day, so when there are delays it impacts the whole network,” Beckett said.

In a statement, Sydney Airport urged passengers to check with their airline regarding the status of their flight.

Air traffic control staff are entitled to unlimited sick leave, while a small number of absences can overwhelm the workforce, which suffered a large exodus during the COVID pandemic.

There were mass flight cancellations and nationwide delays at Sydney Airport in February 2024 after just two staff members called in sick, as workers scrambled to control movement on the tarmac.

Airlines for Australia and New Zealand chairman Graeme Samuel, whose flight to Melbourne has been delayed by more than 90 minutes, hit out at Airservices Australia’s “outrageous” conduct on Thursday.

“This has to stop, it’s frankly getting nonsensical … it’s all going wrong, and it’s all attributable to air traffic control,” said Samuel, the former ACCC chair who spoke to the Herald while his plane was grounded on the tarmac.

“You can only use COVID for so long. We’ve had two to three years, and if Airservices haven’t got its act together in that time, then something is awfully wrong.”

Airservices Australia said recruitment remained a top priority, and it had added 91 air traffic controllers in 2025.

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