Overview

• Departures are being spaced four minutes apart from 10am to 11pm with a complete halt scheduled from 3:30pm to 4pm.
• Airservices Australia confirmed the shortage is due to illness and said it is working with airlines to minimise disruption.
• Sydney Airport advised passengers to check with their carriers, noted arrivals are unaffected, and reported other operations are normal.
• Qantas expects limited impact and plans to retime three flights outside the no‑departure window, while Virgin Australia had no flights in that half hour.
• The constraints highlight longer‑term staffing fragility after a voluntary retirement program reduced controller numbers during a busier travel period for NRL and AFL finals.