Hobart airport rises to the challenge

THERE were some delays that left passengers less than impressed, but Hobart Airport has largely passed its busiest day ever in fine form.

Yesterday the airport handled 76 flights, its busiest day ever, on a bumper Boxing Day.

With so many flights there was bound to be some issues, and passengers were left twiddling their thumbs for hours after two Jetstar flights encountered engineering issues.

The delays to flight JQ700 meant some travellers hoping to catch the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne were still in Hobart when the first delivery was bowled.

On social media Jetstar said it needed to ensure it had appropriate safety measures before it went in the air.

“Delays and cancellations are a common challenge across the airline industry and happen for a number of rea- sons,” Jetstar Tweeted in response to a complaint about the delays.

“While we understand the inconvenience this may have caused, we will always follow the appropriate safety meas- ures for our aircraft even if it means we need to change our schedule.”

An airport spokesman said apart from the two delays the day had been mainly smooth.

“We thank all passengers for their patience and hopefully everyone has gotten to where they need to be on Boxing Day,” he said.

The Papera clan was headed home to Sydney after seeing family in Hobart for Christmas.

Noelle Papera said they usually travelled to Hobart once a year and yesterday was as busy as they had seen the airport but the higher traffic caused no problems for them.

“It’s usually empty but it was very busy, it seemed like there were a lot of international visitors,” Ms Papera said. new fiancee has been seen with the Duchess of Cambridge.

And the British media was quick to launch into comparing the future sisters-in-law.

While pregnant Kate was praised for her tartan coat, confident grin and “perfect” curtsy, some derided Markle for looking nervous and being “a bit wobbly”. as she walked arm-in-arm with Harry.