Chaos strikes Sydney Airport as dozens of flights canceled due to weather

Australian travelers are facing widespread disruption after dozens of scheduled flights to and from Sydney Airport on Sunday were canceled due to high winds.

The chaos has left the plans of hundreds of travelers up in the air, with Sydney Airport’s online flight board showing a flurry of cancellations impacting Virgin Australia, Qantas and Jetstar.

As of 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, there were 33 cancelled flights that were previously scheduled to arrive at Sydney Airport, and 24 cancelled departures from the airport, along with dozens of delayed flights showing on its website.

The nation’s air navigation service provider, Airservices Australia, enacted single runway operations at Sydney Airport on Sunday morning.

It’s expected that operations will soon return to normal with dual runway use, as winds have eased as of Sunday night.

Earlier, the move was made to reduce to a single runway in order to “manage strong westerly winds affecting the parallel north-south runways,” an Airservices Australia spokesperson told news.com.au.

“The decision to move to single runway operations was made in co-operation with our airline customers and the Bureau of Meteorology and was in line with international safety regulations for runway crosswinds.”

Airservices said it issued an advance notice of the conditions to airlines last night in order to assist them in making any necessary changes to flight schedules. However, there will be delays.

“Delays are expected,” the spokesperson said. “We will continue to work closely with industry to minimise impacts for the traveling public.

“Decisions regarding flight cancellations are a matter for individual airlines and it is recommended that passengers check with their airline carrier for possible changes to their travel arrangements.”

A spokesperson from Virgin Australia told news.com.au: “Some services on Virgin Australia’s network have been impacted by adverse weather in Sydney today, Sunday 12 April 2026.

“The safety of our guests and crew is our top priority, and our meteorologists continue to closely monitor the weather system.

“We regret the impact of this on guests’ travel plans and are working hard to ensure they reach their destination as soon as possible.”

Meanwhile, Qantas and Jetstar consolidated a number of flights to help minimize delays and have been contacting customers directly if there are any changes to their flights.

Most Qantas and Jetstar passengers impacted by cancellations are being offered alternative flights within the next 24 hours.