Following long queues and delays at Sydney Airport this week, one JetStar employee has told reporters that airline staff are “faking sickness” to avoid dealing with the current passenger surge.
Just like in the UK, Australia is experiencing delays and disruption at its airports as restrictions ease and the demand for travel returns.
More than 82,000 passengers were expected to pass through Sydney Airport on Thursday - the largest number since travel shut down in 2020.
The unnamed JetStar employee told Daily Mail Australia that some colleagues were calling in sick because they “couldn’t deal with the pressure” of increased travellers clashing with unprepared airports.
“I know for a fact that 28 airport staff members called in sick [last Friday] but they weren’t, they just couldn’t deal with the pressure,” said the source.
“Jetstar alone had 13,000 travellers that day and there were only two lines at the security check.
“It caused a three-hour delay and many passengers missed their flights because they were waiting in the queue.”
They spoke of a “domino effect” where passengers who miss flights due to queues then fill subsequent flights, leaving some delayed travellers without a next flight option.
“We rebook passengers onto the next available flight, but the domino effect keeps happening until the last flight of the day is completely booked up and we can’t find a spot for them,” they told reporters.
This morning, passengers reported that queues were minimal and movement smooth in Sydney’s Terminal 3 - mainly used by Qantas - while Terminal 2 (Virgin Australia, REX and Jetstar) was still seeing large queues.
The JetStar employee, who has also worked for Virgin Australia, told the paper that staff shortages were to blame, claiming that the airport had failed to prepare properly.
“It takes less than a minute for us [Jetstar staff] to check in a passenger. We have efficient and enough staff. The problem is that Sydney airport hasn’t put in appropriate workforce planning for the Easter period.
“They knew months in advance that there was going to be this number of passengers but they failed to plan accordingly.
“Maybe Sydney airport should add a security line for priority passengers so that people don’t miss their flight.”
The Independent has approached JetStar and Sydney Airport for comment.
