Australia airport strikes hit travellers

NZME.

21 Sep, 2015 02:53 AM4 mins to read

Strikes under way at Australia's eight international airports. Photo / iStock

Hundreds of travellers have been struggling through hour-long queues with strikes under way at Australia's eight international airports.

The strikes - to protest pay and working conditions for Department of Immigration and Border Protection - kicked off at 6am (NZT) today and are expected to last for 10 days.

International terminals at Cairns, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Darwin and the Gold Coast are affected.

It has meant increased wait times to get through border protection at the airports - with the issue being compounded by the start of Australian school holidays.

Passenger Mark Harvey waited for about 90 minutes at Sydney Airport before reaching his gate at 12.40pm (NZT).

A line stretching almost 200m from the airport entrance to immigration doors meant a long wait, but most passengers were in good spirits, he said.

"[People should] expect a lot of walking as you zig-zag the queue barriers. Those with children and bags I suggest travel light," he told NZME News Service.

"The mood is fine, business as normal. Staff are doing a good job by keeping [people] moving. Auckland could learn from this maybe."

Some people were anxious about the delays but extra staff were assuring them there would be no problems and airport managers were calling for late passengers to be processed in an express lane, he said.

"The airport must have had a Plan B. Staff are acting professional and at start of the process, they have staff who would not normally be in such positions doing the staff control," Mr Harvey said.

A number of Air New Zealand flights across the ditch will be affected by the wait times.

A total of 48 of the airline's flights are expected to be hampered by the strike in the next week, including 14 which were affected today.

Air New Zealand said the issue comes down to departure processing taking longer than normal due to the strike.

"We recommend that customers should allow at least an hour after completing check-in to complete the border security process prior to departure," the airline said in a statement.

Jetstar spokesman Phil Boeyen said none of the airline's passengers have been affected by the delays so far.

The airline was telling passengers to make their way to their gate as fast as possible through the delays, he said.

"For passengers flying internationally from Australia we're reminding them they can check in three hours prior to their flight and recommending they make their way through to the departures area as soon as they have completed check-in."

It appears no passengers have complained to the airports via social media about the delays.

Australian Border Force has tweeted for passengers to arrive early and allow extra time while the strikes continue.

Melbourne Airport said travellers should allow three hours to be processed before their flights.

"We'd suggest getting here approx 3 hours before your flight as the action may have flow on impacts during the whole day," the airport tweeted.

The strike began after border staff were offered a pay proposal that effectively cuts wages and leaves some workers $8000 (NZ$8944) a year worse off, the Community and Public Sector Union says.

The union said the government was planning to fly hundreds of managers from interstate to act as "strike breakers" at airports.

Border staff are voting on a proposed enterprise agreement, with the ballot closing on Monday.