SYD industrial action 16 Oct 2026

[PineappleSkip]

Just received a text from QF about planned industrial action and impacts on passengers Friday 15 Oct, which links to this update

Australia - Sydney Airport planned industrial action​

Last updated: 15 October 2026

Due to planned industrial action by Sydney Airport security screening staff on Friday 16 October 2026, we’re offering fee-free flight changes on eligible Qantas operated flights.

You’re eligible if your flight:

• Was booked before 16 October 2026
• Departs Sydney Domestic Terminal 3 (T3) on Friday 16 October 2026, and
• Is scheduled to depart between 6am and 10am, or between 5pm and 9pm

You can move to a flight with the same origin and destination, subject to availability, departing:

• Friday 16 October 2026, outside 6am–10am and 5pm–9pm
• Thursday 15 October 2026, or
• Saturday 17 October 2026

If you booked directly with Qantas, call 13 13 13 to change your flight. If you booked through a travel agent, please contact them.

I’m one of the impacted pax, flying AKL-SYD-MCY tomorrow and booked on the evening flight SYD-MCY after a 1h55 connect time. Normally I wouldn’t worry about such a connect, but this news makes it iffy. Might see if I can get through on the call centre and find out what can be done. IIRC I need to clear security again doing an airside transfer T1-T3, I just can’t remember where.

Update: after 45 minutes on the phone to QF in CPT, always a nerve wracking experience, they rebooked the SYD-MCY sector onto Saturday afternoon's flight. And it's actually been reticketed.

So you can rebook one sector of a multi sector itinerary if the original flight fits within the disruption window.

 

[Katie]

If you were still on your original plans, then you would have done security before boarding the airside bus to the domestic terminal.

 

[PineappleSkip]

you would have done security before boarding the airside bus to the domestic terminal.

Which probably wouldn’t have been an issue. Ah well, an entertaining afternoon of itinerary reconstruction was had.

 

[LionKing]

Qantas T3 has the worst effect.

 

[AuSammy]

 

[flyingfan]

Just went through internationals and it was the same (or even slightly quicker!) than usual. No ridiculous queues but I could see airport management were standing by, including with a huge pallet labelled ‘emergency management’ - with lots and lots of bottles of water.

Apart from a few red union stickers and caps, and the rolling PAs, you wouldn’t know what’s going on.