Australia’s first big holiday-season test of airport resilience went poorly on Sunday, 7 December 2025. Real-time FlightAware data analysed by Travel & Tour World and VisaHQ show a combined 588 delays and 21 outright cancellations across Sydney (SYD), Melbourne Tullamarine (MEL), Brisbane (BNE) and the Gold Coast (OOL).
Jetstar again shouldered the heaviest losses, with six cancellations and more than 90 late departures. Qantas, QantasLink and Virgin Australia posted triple-digit delay figures of their own, while Malaysia Airlines, Fiji Airways and other international carriers reported knock-on schedule slips. Ground staff at SYD and MEL said early-morning gate congestion quickly spiralled as crew “duty clocks” expired, forcing further aircraft swaps and re-crewing.
![Summer Peak Disruption: 588 Delays and 21 Cancellations Snarl Australia’s Four Busiest Airports]()
Several factors converged. First, the network is still catching up from Jetstar’s 34-aircraft grounding last week to reverse a faulty Airbus A320 software upgrade. Second, stretched pilot rosters left limited flex when weather cells rolled across the east coast. Finally, peak-season passenger volumes—in some terminals already topping pre-COVID highs—left little slack for recovery.
For corporate mobility managers, the episode is a reminder to build extra layover time into Monday-morning connections, alert travellers to possible last-minute gate changes, and revisit airline “irregular operations” contracts that guarantee hotel rooms and re-routing priority. Companies running fly-in-fly-out (FIFO) rosters to mining sites should expect downstream crew shortages through mid-week as displaced staff struggle to reach remote bases.
Airports say they will review stand-allocation algorithms and call in additional volunteers for the remaining December weekends. Airlines, meanwhile, have urged passengers to use mobile-app bag drops and arrive at least three hours before departure until the backlog clears.
Jetstar again shouldered the heaviest losses, with six cancellations and more than 90 late departures. Qantas, QantasLink and Virgin Australia posted triple-digit delay figures of their own, while Malaysia Airlines, Fiji Airways and other international carriers reported knock-on schedule slips. Ground staff at SYD and MEL said early-morning gate congestion quickly spiralled as crew “duty clocks” expired, forcing further aircraft swaps and re-crewing.
Several factors converged. First, the network is still catching up from Jetstar’s 34-aircraft grounding last week to reverse a faulty Airbus A320 software upgrade. Second, stretched pilot rosters left limited flex when weather cells rolled across the east coast. Finally, peak-season passenger volumes—in some terminals already topping pre-COVID highs—left little slack for recovery.
For corporate mobility managers, the episode is a reminder to build extra layover time into Monday-morning connections, alert travellers to possible last-minute gate changes, and revisit airline “irregular operations” contracts that guarantee hotel rooms and re-routing priority. Companies running fly-in-fly-out (FIFO) rosters to mining sites should expect downstream crew shortages through mid-week as displaced staff struggle to reach remote bases.
Airports say they will review stand-allocation algorithms and call in additional volunteers for the remaining December weekends. Airlines, meanwhile, have urged passengers to use mobile-app bag drops and arrive at least three hours before departure until the backlog clears.
