Flights grounded at Sydney Airport - with passengers facing delays of up to 120 minutes

By CAITLIN POWELL - NEWS REPORTER Published: 04:10, 7 August 2026 | Updated: 04:27, 7 August 2026 Passengers at Sydney Airport were left stranded after at least 95 flights were delayed or cancelled due to operational issues. The situation was first flagged on the tracking site Flightradar24 early on Friday. Qantas had more than 50 flights delayed, with some planes grounded on the tarmac for up to 120 minutes, according to The Daily Telegraph. Four flights were cancelled. Rex said passengers have been offloaded from planes to be taken back to the terminal by bus. About 20 Virgin Australia flights were delayed up to 80 minutes, with two flights to Melbourne cancelled. Jetstar said 25 services were also delayed. A woman who boarded a flight to Cairns at 6.10am said the plane taxied for about 30 minutes but had to be taken back to the gate. 'I was wondering what was going on because we hadn't taken off yet,' she told 7News. 'Then we got an announcement saying there's something wrong with the radar and also the backup radar wasn't working as well.' At least 95 Qantas, Rex, Virgin Australia and Jetstar flights were delayed or cancelled at Sydney Airport on Friday morning Another passenger claimed he was due to depart for Hong Kong at 10.10am but had a 'one-and-a-half hour delay caused by air traffic control'. Stephen Beckett, chief executive of Airlines for Australia, which represents most of the country's major airlines, described the situation as 'catastrophic'. 'Tens of thousands of Australian travellers will have their commute impacted by this – they will miss international connections' he told the Telegraph. 'This is catastrophic for the national network – we need to know what is going on. 'This is a persistent problem that Airservices says they have fixed.' Mr Beckett said Airservices Australia, the government-owned corporation responsible for providing services to the aviation industry, needs to make sure there are 'enough people and robust rosters to do the job'.  Airservices Australia acknowledged that there had been operational restrictions on Friday. 'Airservices this morning enacted Air Traffic Flow Management measures at Sydney Airport due to operational restrictions to safely manage projected airborne and departure demands,' a spokesperson told the Daily Mail. Airservices Australia, which is responsible for providing services to the aviation industry, said there had been operational restrictions (file image) How should Sydney Airport and Airservices Australia be held accountable for disrupting thousands of travellers? What's your view?'Airservices acknowledges the ATFM measures, which have now been removed, caused disruptions to airline scheduling, however capacity has now been restored and no further significant delays are anticipated. 'We note recent media reporting and commentary about the performance of our air traffic controllers.  'Airservices air traffic controllers are incredibly proud and dedicated to performing what is a demanding, safety-critical role.  'We take their wellbeing and psychosocial safety seriously and ask that commentary on operational performance recognises the professionalism and commitment of the controllers working every day to keep the travelling public safe.'