Travellers faced fresh chaos at Melbourne Airport on Sunday. A technical system failure caused significant delays for international passengers. This incident marks the second major outage to hit the airport in just three days. Queues stretched through the terminals as staff processed passengers manually. The disruption impacted thousands of people during a busy weekend peak. Aviation officials warned travellers to expect continued delays throughout the day.
Chaos at the Melbourne Airport
System Failure Halts Operations
The latest glitch struck the airport’s critical processing systems on Sunday morning. It forced airline staff to check in passengers using manual methods. This slow process caused bottlenecks at check-in counters and security gates. Screens inside the terminal went dark or displayed incorrect flight information. Technicians worked urgently to restore the impacted network infrastructure. Melbourne Airport confirmed the issue in a statement released to the media.
Weekend of Disruption
This event follows a nationwide passport system outage on Friday. That earlier failure crippled the Australian Border Force’s SmartGates. It left thousands of arriving passengers stranded in immigration halls. The Friday outage forced border officials to process every passport by hand. The cumulative effect of these two events created a backlog of flights. Airlines struggled to maintain their scheduled departure slots amid the turmoil.
Compounding Aviation Issues
Other operational challenges compounded the misery for travellers this weekend. Jetstar grounded approximately 90 flights due to a separate global issue. An urgent recall of Airbus A320 planes required immediate software fixes. This recall removed vital aircraft from the carrier’s operational fleet. The airline cancelled dozens of services across its domestic network. These cancellations added to the growing crowd of stranded passengers at Tullamarine.
Official Responses
Authorities moved quickly to manage the unfolding situation on the ground. Melbourne Airport stated they are “currently prioritising flights to manage passenger flows”. They aim to ease congestion building up in the departure lounges. The Australian Border Force addressed the earlier passport control failure. A spokesperson confirmed that “the issue has been resolved at all airports”. However, the cause of Sunday’s specific local system failure remains under investigation.
Passenger Frustration Mounts
Frustrated travellers took to social media to share their experiences. Images showed lines snaking out of the terminal doors. Many passengers expressed anger over the lack of clear communication. Families with young children waited for hours with little information. Airline staff handed out water to those stuck in the queues. The airport advised all passengers to check flight status with their airline.
Long queues formed at Melbourne International Airport
Impact on Flight Schedules
The consecutive outages caused a domino effect on flight schedules. Delays rippled through the network to other Australian capital cities. Flights arriving from Sydney and Brisbane faced holding patterns above Melbourne. Departures suffered pushbacks of up to 90 minutes in some cases. Baggage handlers also struggled to keep up with the disrupted timeline. The airport expects the backlog to clear over the next 24 hours.
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Fire Scare Adds to Woes
The weekend’s troubles actually began late Friday with a separate incident. Fire crews evacuated Terminal 1 after a small fire broke out. This emergency response halted Qantas operations for a significant period. Firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze without any reported injuries. Yet, this evacuation set the tone for a difficult weekend at Tullamarine. The succession of incidents has severely tested the airport’s resilience.
Looking Ahead
Airport management has promised a full review of these technical failures. They intend to prevent such a cluster of outages from recurring. The airport is currently upgrading its international baggage system to boost capacity. Officials hope these upgrades will eventually improve the overall passenger experience. For now, travellers should allow extra time when heading to the airport. Operations are slowly returning to normal as systems come back online.
