The tourism sector has welcomed new reforms announced by the Federal Government today to ensure fewer flights are delayed or cancelled due to wild weather or other disruptions at Sydney Airport.

Tourism & Transport Forum (TTF) Australia CEO Margy Osmond said introducing a new ‘recovery period’ to temporarily allow increased hourly flights on the day of a disruption was a major win for passengers.

“This will see fewer travellers left stranded when severe storms strike or other unexpected disruptions take place at Sydney Airport, which often cause travel chaos across the network,” Ms Osmond said.

“These new rules will allow the backlog of flights to be cleared more quickly so more passengers will be able to reach their destinations and return home to their families.”

“Time after time we see incidents in Sydney causing cascading effects across the country, triggering flight delays and cancellations nationwide. These reforms will not only benefit passengers using Sydney Airport but help shield travellers right across Australia.”

The new ‘recovery period’ will allow up to 85 flights per hour at Sydney Airport for a maximum of two hours on the same day as a major disruption but will not extend past curfew hours or increase the overall number of daily flights allowed.

“We look forward to working with the Federal Government on the best way to implement these much-needed reforms to improve the passenger experience for all,” Ms Osmond said.

The Tourism & Transport Forum also welcomed reforms to improve transparency around slot usage, including independent audits to reduce anti-competitive behaviour, as well as changes to help prioritise regional services in NSW.

ENDS