Disruption to Flight due to Air Traffic Control Limiting Aircraft Arrivals and Departures in SYD?

[goldielucks]

Just got the message: "There may be disruptions to your flight today, Saturday 16 December, due to Air Traffic Control limiting aircraft arrivals and departures in Sydney. Please check your flight at qantas.com/flightstatus "
Does that mean my flight will likely be cancelled? It is leaving today at 7:50PM and arriving at Syd around 10:30PM and is the last flight of the day. If that is likely the case I am going to look around for a hotel as there is no need to be staying at the airport (I am transfering from another airline and am stuck at BNE).

 

[Mwenenzi]

No one knows (other than QF) if your flight will be cancelled.
Some cancellations listed here

Flight Listing

www.sydneyairport.com.au

Any VA / Rex flights be cancelled?

At times SYD goes from 2 runway operation to 1 runway operation. Creates chaos. No idea if that is happening now

 

[I love to travel]

Another storm now in Brisbane won't help this either.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

BNE dom airport has those 2 hotels that are close to the dom terminal, walkable from the dom terminal, via the carpark.
Go from the train station, top most level of carpark, and then descent on the sloped walkway, all the way to the ground level.
If you go from ground level, you have to contend with the cars driving in and out, so go up to the top most level of the railway station, and also then use the sloped ramp.
Go down the walk ramp, and take the most left route, with you facing the control tower.
If you have to stay at the BNE airport ibis or mercure that is, and do succeed in making a hotel booking.
Other than that, there is the Novotel by the orange bus, which is free.
Or go by train into city.
Hope your flight is not cancelled, you would have the info by now eh?
===
BNE airport website still shows it as "on time".
---
The previous flight on Thu this week, of QF557, was very late into dep SYD - BNE, so this might affect the dep tonight.
Lots of loops too, from the flightaware map.
Todays, QF557 does not list "view incoming flight".

 

[goldielucks]

That was very in

BNE dom airport has those 2 hotels that are close to the dom terminal, walkable from the dom terminal, via the carpark.
Go from the train station, top most level of carpark, and then descent on the sloped walkway, all the way to the ground level.
If you go from ground level, you have to contend with the cars driving in and out, so go up to the top most level of the railway station, and also then use the sloped ramp.
Go down the walk ramp, and take the most left route, with you facing the control tower.
If you have to stay at the BNE airport ibis or mercure that is, and do succeed in making a hotel booking.
Other than that, there is the Novotel by the orange bus, which is free.
Or go by train into city.
Hope your flight is not cancelled, you would have the info by now eh?
===
BNE airport website still shows it as "on time".
---
The previous flight on Thu this week, of QF557, was very late into dep SYD - BNE, so this might affect the dep tonight.
Lots of loops too, from the flightaware map.
Todays, QF557 does not list "view incoming flight".

That was very insighftul I was wondering what the late departure on Thursday have to do with anything since it's two days apart in terms of cause and effect? I looked at flightaware and the route seems pretty straight (zooming out that is). Hmm don't get the signifinance of "view incoming flight" either. But my status says not delayed on my Qantas app.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Guess that Goldilucks flight got cancelled, ...
No movement for both flightaware and flightradar.
Haven't checked BNE airport website.
BNE airport website says, "departed".
Lucky.
---
Oh, must be a lapse.
Flightaware now says "departed" too.
Over Moreton Bay now.

 

[clifford]

Is this to do with industrial action, I wonder?

I had a flight from OOL to SYD a couple of days ago that left on time at noon, and arrived over 20 minutes late.

The main reason was much circling over the Hawkesbury region, even though the weather in Sydney was beautiful.

I just wondered what was going on with ATC, as I hadn't experienced anything like this before in Sydney in the early afternoon, when the weather was clear.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Could be, Clifford, but also Qld is having very bad weather, esp up north.
If planes from up there are delayed, ie, not in a sequence, other planes needing to land, will also be in a circular motion in the air, unless they have low fuel, which would then put them into a priority landing slot.
Esp BNE/CNS - SYD.
Otherwise, its a circleling we will go.
ADL also has had cancellations, crew shortage was described, but if you look at the weather in upper north QLD, its been ad, esp CNS airport, flooded runway, water looged small planes, and larger Alliance ones too.
===
As of now, CNS airport is "closed".
So, any VA planes from there, would in the past few days, since the typhoon and storm started, would have been delayed/cancelled.

 

[jb747]

.....unless they have low fuel, which would then put them into a priority landing slot.

You might be surprised. Declaring min fuel basically means nothing. You will not get any priority unless you declare an emergency. And then there's lots of paperwork.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Thanks for that one, Jb747.

 

[evanb]

Is this to do with industrial action, I wonder?

I had a flight from OOL to SYD a couple of days ago that left on time at noon, and arrived over 20 minutes late.

The main reason was much circling over the Hawkesbury region, even though the weather in Sydney was beautiful.

I just wondered what was going on with ATC, as I hadn't experienced anything like this before in Sydney in the early afternoon, when the weather was clear.

Nothing to do with industrial action, but everything to do with the weather or other operational constraints. Air Services Australia use a pretty sophisticated planning system within an ATFM framework. Your departure to a slot controlled airport wouldn't have occurred if there was an expected hold with otherwise decent weather, and even then, an en route hold would have occurred further north. Likely that weather was somewhat different or some other operational constraints (runway change, runway inspection, missed approach, etc) may have necessitated holding. This is somewhat different when weather is expected to be variable, i.e. not certain or timing or position of storm cell, etc.

The weather may appear perfect to you or I, but that means very little. Sydney's slots are allocated on 80 aircraft movements per hour (takeoffs and landings), but the exact runway configuration, winds and visibility conditions affect the actual flow rate or arrival rate. Minor changes in weather (sometimes as little as a 5kt change in wind or direction) can affect the flow rate and can change rapidly. What is remarkable is how little holding occurs at Sydney compared to Heathrow which has similar constraints.