Major airlines have canceled 34 flights and delayed 272 more, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded.
Significant delays were recorded across Australia and New Zealand’s aviation networks on Sunday, 26 April.
Hundreds of travelers were stranded in major travel hubs including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch.
Airlines such as Jetstar, Qantas and Virgin Australia were responsible for the majority of cancellations, although the impact was felt across the wider travel network.
Many flights in New Zealand did not go ahead while Australian passengers faced long waits.
The largest number of delays occurred at Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport, where 84 flights failed to depart or arrive on time.
Seven flights from Victoria Airport were also canceled throughout the day.
All canceled flights were either Virgin Australia or Jetstar.
As Australia’s busiest airport, Sydney had the most number of flight cancellations as 10 flights failed to take off, leaving many passengers stranded at this popular destination.
Apart from this, 69 flights were also delayed.
Another 62 flights into Brisbane also faced delays and had to wait longer.
In Auckland, New Zealand, eight flights were canceled and 44 were affected by delays.
These disruptions particularly affected long-haul connecting flights from the country.
The disturbance in Wellington was much less, but four flights were still cancelled.
The travel chaos has arisen amid growing concerns about air travel due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and rising fuel prices.
Although this is not believed to cause chaos, airlines in New Zealand have commented on the impact of increased energy costs.
On 7 April, Air New Zealand announced it would cut flights and raise ticket prices in May and June, noting that it was the first carrier to introduce widespread fare increases when the conflict began.
Passengers affected by the travel accident have been urged to contact their airlines to discuss compensation.
