Photos show travel chaos at one of the busiest airports south of the equator with lines snaking hundreds of meters after technical issues and heavy fog

Grace DeanJul 25, 2022, 22:22 IST

Sydney Airport was swamped by huge lines on Monday morning.Courtesy of Ben Fisher

Sydney Airport was swamped by huge lines on Monday morning, with some even snaking outside.
Technical issues slowed down security, while heavy fog meant some flights were delayed.

Sydney Airport was in chaos on Monday as technical issues caused huge lines for security, while heavy fog meant that some flights were delayed.

Huge lines at Sydney Airport on July 25.Courtesy of Owen Brandt

Huge lines snaked round the airport ...

Huge lines at Sydney Airport on July 25.Courtesy of Penny McCall Howard

... and even extended outside, where the line was "hundreds of meters" long with thousands of passengers, the Australian Broadcast Corporation and Sky News Australia reported. By around noon, the outside line had cleared, the ABC reported.

Huge lines outside the terminal at Sydney Airport on July 25.Courtesy of Ben Fisher

... and even extended outside, where the line was "hundreds of meters" long with thousands of passengers, the Australian Broadcast Corporation and Sky News Australia reported. By around noon, the outside line had cleared, the ABC reported.

Photos also show passengers lining up in what one Twitter user called a "shed" located next to the terminal.

Huge lines at Sydney Airport on July 25.Courtesy of Ben Fisher

"Heavy fog affected flights this morning, and we're temporarily operating one less security lane than normal in T2 due to a technical issue," the airport said in a tweet on Monday morning. Terminal two only serves domestic flights.

Huge lines at Sydney Airport on July 25.Courtesy of Penny McCall Howard

"Heavy fog affected flights this morning, and we're temporarily operating one less security lane than normal in T2 due to a technical issue," the airport said in a tweet on Monday morning. Terminal two only serves domestic flights.

One Twitter user said it had taken them an hour and a half to get through the airport's security queue.

Huge lines at Sydney Airport on July 25.Courtesy of Ben Fisher

Other people tweeted that their flights had been delayed or canceled.

Huge lines at Sydney Airport on July 25.Courtesy of T. Percy

Sydney Airport has been struggling to cope with rebounding passenger numbers for months. Nearly 2.6 million passengers traveled through the airport in June.

Huge lines at Sydney Airport on July 25.Courtesy of Ben Fisher

"We have significant COVID-related staff shortages and we're working hard to rebuild our workforce in a really tight jobs market," the airport tweeted earlier in July. In early June, the airport said that it had around 5,000 vacancies.

Huge lines at Sydney Airport on July 25.Courtesy of @Filankisija on Twitter

"We have significant COVID-related staff shortages and we're working hard to rebuild our workforce in a really tight jobs market," the airport tweeted earlier in July. In early June, the airport said that it had around 5,000 vacancies.

"Staff shortages are affecting almost every organization at Sydney Airport," it said in another tweet on July 18.

Huge lines at Sydney Airport on July 25.Courtesy of @Filankisija on Twitter

Despite the long lines, the airport says that people should still arrive around three hours before international flights and two hours before domestic ones. Thursdays, Fridays, and Mondays are its busiest days.

Huge lines at Sydney Airport on July 25.Courtesy of Ben Fisher

Despite the long lines, the airport says that people should still arrive around three hours before international flights and two hours before domestic ones. Thursdays, Fridays, and Mondays are its busiest days.

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Photos show travel chaos at one of the busiest airports south of the equator with lines snaking hundreds of meters after technical issues and heavy fog

Sydney Airport was in chaos on Monday as technical issues caused huge lines for security, while heavy fog meant that some flights were delayed.

Huge lines snaked round the airport ...

... and even extended outside, where the line was "hundreds of meters" long with thousands of passengers, the Australian Broadcast Corporation and Sky News Australia reported. By around noon, the outside line had cleared, the ABC reported.

Photos also show passengers lining up in what one Twitter user called a "shed" located next to the terminal.

"Heavy fog affected flights this morning, and we're temporarily operating one less security lane than normal in T2 due to a technical issue," the airport said in a tweet on Monday morning. Terminal two only serves domestic flights.

One Twitter user said it had taken them an hour and a half to get through the airport's security queue.

Other people tweeted that their flights had been delayed or canceled.

Sydney Airport has been struggling to cope with rebounding passenger numbers for months. Nearly 2.6 million passengers traveled through the airport in June.

"We have significant COVID-related staff shortages and we're working hard to rebuild our workforce in a really tight jobs market," the airport tweeted earlier in July. In early June, the airport said that it had around 5,000 vacancies.

"Staff shortages are affecting almost every organization at Sydney Airport," it said in another tweet on July 18.

Despite the long lines, the airport says that people should still arrive around three hours before international flights and two hours before domestic ones. Thursdays, Fridays, and Mondays are its busiest days.

"We have significant COVID-related staff shortages and we're working hard to rebuild our workforce in a really tight jobs market," the airport tweeted earlier in July. In early June, the airport said that it had around 5,000 vacancies.