Long queues at major airports cause chaos in Australia as holidaymakers fly out for Queen’s Day long weekend
Frustrated travelers face long lines again as hundreds of thousands of Australians celebrate the long weekend on Queen’s Day.
Travelers across the country have been warned to arrive at the airport two to three hours before their scheduled flight departure. Long queues cause long delays before the Queen’s Day long weekend.
Tens of thousands of holidaymakers have already flocked to Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane airports on Friday morning, leading to long queues at check-in and security in a near repeat of the chaos over the Easter weekend.
Residents of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Northern Territory, the ACT, and Tasmania will enjoy three days off. Most will want to fly to warmer cities amid the cold winds hitting the east coast.
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From 5 am, queues began to form at airports, with some passengers anticipating delays that caused chaos two months ago.
Dozens of flights were canceled, and hundreds of passengers had to rebook or make alternate plans after missing their planes.
Some passengers queuing on Friday told reporters they feared it would happen to them.
One woman said she would not make her flight because she did not have enough time to check in and go through security.
“It’s my first time going for a long weekend… but so many people, it’s a bit crazy, hectic. Hopefully, I’ll make it; not so sure,” she said.
Another traveler described the lines as “crazy” and something they hadn’t seen before.
“I’ve never seen the rules for so long; it’s crazy, ridiculous,” she said.
Melbourne Airport spokesman Andrew Lund advised travelers going interstate or internationally to arrive quickly.
“Certainly, some check-in areas have been quite busy this morning,” he said.
“We advise people to arrive one to two hours earlier on a domestic flight and two to three hours earlier than on international flights.”
The queues are starting to decrease as the morning rush hour ends, but will increase again on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning.
Sydney Airport expects 80,000 travelers to pass through gates on Friday, while Melbourne will have its busiest day since the pandemic, with a record 97,000 passengers departing in a single day.
Sydney Airport is hosting a job fair next week to recruit thousands of workers for hundreds of positions to avoid similar situations before the July school holidays.
Security, baggage handling, government agencies, airlines, hospitality, and retail positions are available.
Interested parties are encouraged to bring copies of their resumes and visit the T1 International Terminal on Thursday, June 16, between 10 am and 4 pm to learn about some of the 800 companies operating at the busy airport.