Busiest time since start of pandemic to hit Aussie airports today

All Aussie states and territories will officially be on school holidays from tomorrow, meaning travellers who are hitting the skies can expect to see airport delays.

School holidays beginning in South Australia and Tasmania – and ending in Victoria and Queensland – mean that today is expected to be the busiest day at some airports since the beginning of the pandemic.

30,000 people are expected to pass through Adelaide Airport today, which is higher than over the Easter break or for the same period prior to the pandemic.

Adelaide Airport: Lengthy wait times for passengers with lines snaking through the terminal. More than 30,000 people are expected to pass through the airport today, the busiest day since the pandemic began. @7NewsAdelaide pic.twitter.com/v5TzEnksdu
— Nathan Regter (@RegterNathan) July 7, 2022

Adelaide Airport’s managing director, Brenton Cox, told the ABC the coming Mondays and Thursdays are also expected to be busy. 22 July, the last Friday of the South Australian school holidays, is expected to be the airport’s busiest day.

“There’s seven days over the next three weeks where we are going to be close to 30,000 people a day running through, which is busier than before the pandemic and busier than Easter, where our busiest day was 26,000,” Cox told the ABC.

News.com.au reported that Melbourne Airport will also experience its busiest day since the pandemic began, with over 100,000 people expected to move through its terminals today.

Tomorrow Victoria to welcome 100,000 passengers at Melbourne airport.. 20% from overseas.. that’s 20,000 coming into the state – not having to pre test for Covid prior to arrival! And how of those will not have had a vaccine at all, I wonder?? This is insanity!
— Diane D (@rogueytwinkles) July 7, 2022

Melbourne Airport CEO Lorie Argus said yesterday that it was “great” to see people travelling, though the increased demand has created issues for the aviation industry.

“Tomorrow (Friday) is going to be our busiest day on record since pre-Covid levels and that’s 100,000 people travelling through the airport,” she said.

“Airports are busy places, so it’s not unusual to see queues and people moving through the airport during school holidays … but it is great to see those pre-Covid levels hit.

“There’s definitely on time performance disruption in the network; that’s certainly due to staff shortages – due to the weather with the challenges up in NSW.

“Predominantly we hope most of the carriers will be running on time for the school holidays.”

Travellers hitting the airports are being advised to arrive two hours early for domestic flights and three hours early for international flights.

Featured Image: Twitter/RegterNathan

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Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

adelaide airport airport delays Brenton Cox Lorie Argus melbourne airport school holidays