Flight cancellations and delays occurred at Sydney Airport on September 11, 2026, due to a shortage of air traffic controllers, according to Airservices Australia, the federal agency responsible for managing Australia’s air traffic.
Airservices Australia implemented Air Traffic Flow Management (ATFM) measures to address roster constraints and to safely manage aviation demand at the airport. These measures were lifted at 8:15 a.m. local time (2215 GMT on September 10), though delays of up to 10 minutes were forecast to continue for the remainder of the morning.
Several Qantas flights were delayed by more than one hour, and six flights in
total were cancelled. Sydney Airport’s official website did not provide specific reasons for the delays, directing inquiries to Airservices Australia instead.
An Airservices Australia spokesperson acknowledged that the ATFM measures may have disrupted airline scheduling and said the agency is working with airlines to reduce delays and lessen passenger impact. The agency is actively recruiting more air traffic controllers and streamlining the process to deploy additional staff when necessary.
The disruptions occurred amid ongoing investigations into six recent near-misses at Sydney Airport, some involving fatigue risks among air traffic controllers. One July near-miss between two Qantas aircraft was reportedly linked
to controllers at high risk of fatigue. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is examining these incidents to identify any common safety issues.
On the day of the disruption, Airservices Australia CEO Rob Sharp and other senior executives were scheduled to appear before a Senate committee reviewing Australia’s aviation sector reliability and affordability, including the challenges posed by staffing shortages.
