Key Points
- Some cancelled flights include departures to and arrivals from Sydney, Darwin, Brisbane, Kuala Lumpur and Bali.
- All travellers are warned to check their flight status before heading to the airport.
- The airport will work with airlines to clear the backlog of flights to help passengers get to their destinations.
A refuelling issue that grounded nearly 60 planes at Perth Airport has been fixed but a significant backlog of flights remains, spelling more delays for travellers.
Travellers heading to or departing the main West Australian airport were left in limbo due to a fuel load pressure issue in the supply system which meant planes could not be refuelled.
Perth Airport announced on Saturday afternoon the issue had been resolved with the help of external experts.
“We will continue to monitor the situation closely in the event of any further issues,” a spokesperson said in a statement on Saturday.
The spokesperson said 59 domestic and international flights had been cancelled due to the operational issue.
The cancellations include nearly 60 domestic and international flights. Source: AAP / Richard Wainwright
Some cancelled flights include departures to and arrivals from Sydney, Darwin, Brisbane, Kuala Lumpur and Bali.
Some flights were diverted to other airports including a flight from London which was forced to land in Karratha in WA’s north.
The airport said it would work with airlines to clear the backlog of flights to help passengers get to their destinations.
“We again thank both passengers and our airline partners for their patience and understanding,” the spokesperson said.
The Perth Airport website shows there are still dozens of delayed international and domestic flights.
Qantas issued an update earlier on Saturday for its travellers explaining the cancellations and delays were due to no fuel being available to any aircraft on the ground at the airport.
“We’re in constant contact with Perth Airport for updates and are working hard to find an interim solution to get customers on their way as quickly as possible,” the airline said in a statement.
Affected customers are being contacted directly and all travellers are warned to check their flight status before heading to the airport.
Federal minister Matt Keogh expressed his frustration for passengers, saying it is a “highly stressful” situation.
“I feel for the passengers firstly, because whenever one is caught up with chaos at an airport, it’s highly stressful,” he told reporters on Saturday.
Passengers departing from Perth on Saturday are urged to contact their airline for more information about their flights.
The airport spokesperson apologised to travellers and to airlines for the significant impact.
“We understand that this has been a difficult and frustrating morning for passengers and our airline partners,” the spokesperson said.
