I flew from Avalon Airport to Sydney last evening (Thurs 16/10), and am curious to hear from others who may have done also, particularly those on JQ 624 or JQ626.
I was on the later, and while making my way down the highway called the phone service to check its scheduled time of departure. Ontime for a 2015 departure. However after collecting my boarding pass from the kiosk an announcement states that due to the late arrival of my aircraft boarding would take place some 40 min later. The 624 which was meant to leave half hour prior to mine is also running late. Seems reasonable, then a second pa is made declaring that boarding is likely to take place at 2140hours. No other explanation provided. I take myself out to the service desk where I am greeted with the usual curt lip service, and here is where my concern/interest/curiosity sees me posting on this site for the first time.
I was told that ' the radar tower in Sydney was down, and as a result were only landing one plane at a time, and letting one take off' I was also made aware that this was the case in Melbourne Tullamarine. It was a safety measure and nothing Jetstar could do about it. At this point I am thinking maybe it aint that safe to fly, should I offload etc etc. Eventually we board, and make the dash to Sydney, landing 2 minutes before the curfew.
Today I looked at the domestic arrivals/departures of Qantas out of SYD and MEL around this time, to find that while they had delays, they were were of only a few minutes, with many flight arriving/departing on or before so.
I have searched for any news coverage of this incident, thinking it would be news worthy to no evail. The aircraft that became my JQ626 to Sydney also flew into Avalon empty, literally minutes after pulling into the gate, was on its way. This despite being told be the ground staff at Avalon that it was a late departure from ????. Does Avalon rely on either Melb or Syd for radar navigation?
It's somewhat bizarre to me, so thanks to those who care to comment and/or correct my hightened sense of curiosity to this event.
Cheers Clip
I was on the later, and while making my way down the highway called the phone service to check its scheduled time of departure. Ontime for a 2015 departure. However after collecting my boarding pass from the kiosk an announcement states that due to the late arrival of my aircraft boarding would take place some 40 min later. The 624 which was meant to leave half hour prior to mine is also running late. Seems reasonable, then a second pa is made declaring that boarding is likely to take place at 2140hours. No other explanation provided. I take myself out to the service desk where I am greeted with the usual curt lip service, and here is where my concern/interest/curiosity sees me posting on this site for the first time.
I was told that ' the radar tower in Sydney was down, and as a result were only landing one plane at a time, and letting one take off' I was also made aware that this was the case in Melbourne Tullamarine. It was a safety measure and nothing Jetstar could do about it. At this point I am thinking maybe it aint that safe to fly, should I offload etc etc. Eventually we board, and make the dash to Sydney, landing 2 minutes before the curfew.
Today I looked at the domestic arrivals/departures of Qantas out of SYD and MEL around this time, to find that while they had delays, they were were of only a few minutes, with many flight arriving/departing on or before so.
I have searched for any news coverage of this incident, thinking it would be news worthy to no evail. The aircraft that became my JQ626 to Sydney also flew into Avalon empty, literally minutes after pulling into the gate, was on its way. This despite being told be the ground staff at Avalon that it was a late departure from ????. Does Avalon rely on either Melb or Syd for radar navigation?
It's somewhat bizarre to me, so thanks to those who care to comment and/or correct my hightened sense of curiosity to this event.
Cheers Clip
