Both the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age are reporting Sydney Airport is at breaking point, with a shortage of air traffic controllers leading to a spike in overtime hours, and restrictions on flights about once a month.
Figures obtained by the newspapers from Sydney Airport show the total overtime hours air traffic controllers are working have increased 50 percent over the past three years from 101 hours in 2016 to 140 hours last year.
The figures also show 14 flights at Sydney were disrupted last year by either delay or cancellation due to a shortage of Airservices Australia controllers, whereas Melbourne and Perth airports suffered no disruptions due to staff shortages over the past 3 years.
An Airservices Australia spokeswoman said Sydney Airport has more than enough staff for the airport to safely operate, but such shortages were caused by unforeseen events such as illness and family emergencies impacting workforce availability.