Passengers face major flight delays as damaging winds smash NSW
Passengers may face major delays at Sydney airport as a cold front is bringing with it damaging winds across the city and the NSW alpine region.
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning with damaging winds forecast to batter Sydney, the Illawarra, Southern Tablelands, Snowy Mountains and south coast regions on Saturday.
An approaching cold front is generating "vigorous" winds, which are expected to ease later on Saturday, the bureau said.
Yahoo News Australia understands that there are delays for both international and domestic flights at Sydney airport.
Domestic passengers can expect delays from 30 minutes to two hours, while international passengers could face delays of around 30 minutes.
Wind gusts reached 76km/h on Saturday morning at Sydney airport where Qantas, Jetstar, Tigerair, Rex and Virgin all cancelled multiple flights.
Virgin warned travellers to watch their flight status for any changes due to the weather.
"We’ll do everything to get you on your way as quickly & safely as possible," the airline posted to Twitter.
News Corp reports the wild weather has also led to chaos at airports in Queensland, with a number of flights to Sydney cancelled.
Jetstar alone has cancelled 20 flights in and out of Sydney.
Strong winds in #Sydney today may result in some changes to your flight. We’ll do everything to get you on your way as quickly & safely as possible. If you’re flying, be sure to keep an eye on your flight status. https://t.co/6NblPWkVvR
— Virgin Australia (@VirginAustralia) July 12, 2019
Strong winds lashed parts of the state earlier in the week, with Thredbo recording a peak wind gust of 115km/h on Thursday.
A peak wind gust of 96km/h also hit Moss Vale in the Southern Highlands on Thursday.
The bureau has issued a gale wind warning for the Hunter, Sydney, Illawarra, Batemans Bay and Eden coasts on Saturday.
Passengers should reach out to their airlines for updates on flight information.
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