System failure disrupts flights

HUNDREDS of Cairns passengers experienced disruptions to their flights in and out of Sydney yesterday due to an air traffic control outage at Sydney airport.

Air Services Australia reported there had been a “system software failure” at Sydney’s air traffic control at 5am.

As a result, only a limited number of flights were able to land and depart.

A Cairns Airport spokeswoman said local passengers experienced delays throughout the day.

“There were seven flights delayed yesterday morning (in and out) and more throughout the day but the delays got much shorter as they began to catch up on their schedule,” she said.

“There was a delay that was more than three hours and I believe that was the longest one.”

Further flight delays could also be on the horizon with Bali’s Mount Agung on the verge of erupting.

But a Jetstar spokesman yesterday confirmed that no Bali flights had been cancelled or delayed to or from Cairns yet because of the volcano threat.

“We haven’t cancelled any flights to do with the Bali volcano,” he said.

“We are closely monitoring the situation but nothing is changing at this stage. There have been no changes or delays to flights.”

Virgin Australia also reported that all flights were operating as scheduled, but there could be delays because of flights making fuel stops in Darwin in case of an eruption mid-flight.