Flights from Canberra to Sydney are most likely to be cancelled. (photo by Sydney Morning Herald)
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, data from the Australian Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development (Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development) in September showed that Canberra had the highest rate of temporary cancellations of flights to and from Sydney, reaching 8.1 percent. This was followed by flights from Sydney to Melbourne (7.5 percent) and Melbourne to Sydney (7.4 percent).
In September 2017, 59 flights to and from Sydney in Canberra were cancelled, well above the 30 flights between Canberra and Melbourne during the same period. Among them, Qantas (Qantas) cancelled 32 Sydney flights to Canberra, accounting for 6.8 percent of the monthly scheduled flights, and canceled 31 Canberra flights to Sydney, with a cancellation rate of 6.6 percent. Virgin Airlines (Virgin) cancelled 27 Sydney flights to Canberra, with a 10.5 percent cancellation rate; Canberra's Sydney flights cancelled 28 flights, or 10.9 percent.
Across Australia, the cancellation rate for September was 2.7 percent, not only up from 1.7 percent a month ago, but also above the long-term average of 1.4 percent. Jetstar Airlines (Jetstar), Australia and Virgin Airlines averaged 79.3 percent on time and 80.6 percent on time in September.
It is reported that on Thursday, because of Canberra weather, Qantas cancelled three Canberra flights to Sydney in succession within three hours. Qantas ground crew, who works at Sydney airport, told passengers that the delay was due to a shortage of staff. Feinfas Media asked Qantas on Friday about the delays, which did not respond until Tuesday morning, saying the delays were mostly due to bad weather and machine maintenance.
A spokesman for Virgin Australia also said the Sydney-Canberra route was not a problem. The spokesman said: "The cancellation of the flight is never our first choice, but unfortunately, we have to adjust the service occasionally due to bad weather, operational requirements and other non-limiting factors."