Controller shortage disrupts Sydney Airport flights, delays exceed an hour

A shortage of air traffic controllers disrupted operations at Sydney Airport on Friday morning, leading to around 14 cancellations of inbound flights and delays of more than an hour, the federal agency managing Australian airspace said.

Airservices Australia imposed measures to manage traffic flows so that aviation demand could be handled safely, a step it attributed to a staffing shortfall. The restrictions were lifted at 8:15 a.m. local time after conditions improved. Minor delays persisted through the rest of the morning, with flights returning to schedule in the afternoon.

Speaking to a Senate committee examining the aviation sector, Airservices Australia Deputy Chief Executive Peter Curran said the problem stemmed from unplanned absenteeism the previous night that the agency could not cover. "We're one down in the tower this morning and that led to some significant delays," he told the committee.

Of the 49 controllers employed in Sydney, 41 are required to be operational. Eight have been unavailable because of long-term absences, leaving little capacity to absorb sudden gaps. Curran said the agency had faced staffing challenges for several weeks since July, with moments when the situation became acute.

A spokesperson said Airservices was working with airlines to limit delays and the impact on passengers as far as possible. The agency added that it is taking steps to recruit more controllers and to make it easier to bring in additional staff when required.

The disruption is the latest to affect the country's busiest airport, which has also been under scrutiny over a series of recent near-misses. Internal records and a call recording previously indicated that several controllers on duty when two Qantas aircraft nearly collided in July had been flagged as facing a high risk of fatigue, with one shift manager describing the staffing situation as "a bit insane."

That incident was the first of six close calls at the airport in roughly a month. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is investigating whether the near-misses shared common safety issues or contributing factors, amid a global shortage of air traffic controllers.