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.

 

[airbound]

38 minutes to get through T3 security at ~15:30 this afternoon.

 

[airbound]

Just before 18:00 and the T2 queue is starting outside T3 and going all the way around the horseshoe of the upper road deck, into T2.

 

[bablong]

Arrived T3 445pm. 55 minutes to get through. Line was always moving. Qantas did pretty well I thought with only two machines open and Qantas staff running them.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Sydney airport said they put on 60 extra staff… how is that possible? The security workers are on strike, where do you get 60 replacement staff from?

Not strike breakers?

 

[DC3]

Just went through internationals and it was the same (or even slightly quicker!) than usual …

Sydney airport said they put on 60 extra staff…

 

[PineappleSkip]

Just arrived inbound at international not long ago. Don't know what the queues were like after the transfer desk, or if the transfer desk security was working, as I got the train to Mascot. There were warning announcements every 5 minutes or so. SYD website is saying 35-40 minute wait upstairs at T1 departures. Glad I rebooked tomorrow.

 

[LionKing]

Looks like they are doing a bit of a rolling security strike.

Now international travellers are waiting up to 30-35 minutes. I am thinking whether Business and First class passengers using priority lanes will be exempt.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

View attachment 526773
Looks like they are doing a bit of a rolling security strike.

Now international travellers are waiting up to 30-35 minutes. I am thinking whether Business and First class passengers using priority lanes will be exempt.

I suppose standing in a queue for 30 mins feels like an eternity… but it’s not the end of the world. We regularly spend that long in immigration queues in Thailand, or in Europe now for the EES. Even with the TSA in the USA.

We’ve just had it lucky here with fast security.

Premium pax may have a dedicated lane, but if that’s also working on ha,f or quarter capacity, they’ll have a bit of a wait too.