Brisbane Airport chaos with massive flight delays after huge storm battered the city
Flight schedules have been thrown into chaos at a major Australian airport after a devastating storm ripped through south-east Queensland on Friday evening.
Shortly before 8am on Saturday there were at least 18 canceled domestic flights into Brisbane Airport, while many more, including international flights, were disrupted with delays lasting well into Saturday afternoon.
The disruptions followed heavy rain, hail and gusty winds as strong as a Category 3 cyclone that battered the city overnight.
Shane Kennedy from the Bureau of Meteorology said the storm was “quite brutal” and winds of up to 169 kilometers per hour had left downed trees and power lines across the city.
Stephen Beckett, a spokesman for Brisbane Airport, said the weather conditions affected several flights departing and arriving from the city and many passengers were diverted to other airports before heading to Brisbane.
It is expected that timetables will slowly return to normal during the course of the day.
Brisbane Airport is slowly getting back on schedule after a massive storm caused widespread flight cancellations and diversions on Friday evening and caused delays well into Saturday (file image)
A Qatar Airways flight to Brisbane was diverted to Sydney on Friday evening due to the wild storm, with passengers having to make their way to Brisbane
“A number of flights were diverted to other airports including Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast and Maroochydore,” Beckett told The Courier Mail.
“When we wake up this morning, there are a lot of planes in the wrong location,” he said.
“For example, Qatari airlines entering Brisbane were forced to land in Sydney,” he said.
He advised passengers to check their flight schedules directly with the airline and with Brisbane Airport to ensure they have the latest information.
He said the airport was “doing its best” to support passengers arriving at their intended destinations in the run-up to the festive season.