Aussie travellers warned as daylight saving ends this weekend
Travellers are being reminded to check departure and arrival times as clocks change in five states and territories this weekend.
Sydney airport has sent a friendly warning to passengers planning to fly on Sunday with the clocks set to be wound back an hour.
“Hey all, just letting you know that daylight saving time ends on 2 April 2023,” the airport reminded travellers on TikTok. “So double check your departure/arrival time.” In states that have daylight saving clocks go back from 3am to 2am on Sunday morning.
In the post, which has since racked up more than 19,800 views, the airport added that it was “looking forward to the extra hour of sleep”. But while millions may be counting their shut eye, the whole concept of time change is still leaving plenty of people in the dark.
What is daylight saving time?
Daylight saving time is the practice of setting the clocks forward one hour from standard time during spring and then back again in autumn to make the most of natural daylight.
While about 70 countries around the world use daylight saving time, it’s generally not observed in locations near the equator where sunrise and sunset times don’t vary enough to justify it. In Australia, five out of the eight states and territories take part.
When does it start and end?
At 2am on the first Sunday in October, clocks ‘spring forward’ an hour to 3am in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria, while those in the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia sleep soundly without any interruptions.
After six months of extra light at the end of the day, daylight saving time comes to an end at 3am when those five states and territories revert back to standard time on the first Sunday in April.
Why don’t all states and territories have daylight saving?
While daylight saving time was introduced across the whole country during World War I, it has been a bit of a pick n’ mix since then with the decision to implement it being up to each state and territory.
In December 2006, WA enacted a three-year trial of daylight saving time before almost 56 per cent of residents gave it a thumbs down. A similar move and result occurred in Queensland more than a decade earlier when 54 per cent of people voted no to a referendum in 1992.
What will the time difference be across Australia?
With the ACT, NSW, Tasmania and Victoria all joining Queensland on standard time, there will now be just two hours difference between the east and west coasts.
While the NT and SA will be just half an hour behind the east on Australian Central Standard Time.
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