Virgin Australia Passengers Faced Long Queues at Sydney Airport

3rd Jan 2017

Virgin Australia passengers returning from their Christmas and New Year holidays didn't exactly had the start of 2017 as they planned as they faced long queues out of their carrier's terminal at Sydney Airport.

The unhappy passengers, already tired from their trips dubbed the three lines deep queue that stretched tall the way to the footpath outside the terminal and moved at a snail pace the "world's worst check in-lines.

At the same time, as Virgin Australia struggled to deal with its snaking line, nearby Jetstar and Tiger passengers didn't have the same problems and were out of check-out and on the way to their homes in a matter of minutes.

One passenger, Aurelie Pankowiak, from Melbourne, vented her frustration with a tweet that said:

"Opportunity to experience the world [sic] longest check-in line."

She went on:

"Not cool Virgin. We are 3 lines deep and still didn't make it on to the line inside their terminal. Not Happy!"

Another Twitter user, Tony Wood, wrote:

"Hard to describe the fiasco that is @Virgin Australia at Sydney check-in ? complete chaos. #howdoesthishappen"

A Virgin Australia spokesperson said VA was at full capacity this Tuesday and ready for high demand.

The spokesman said:

"Today is one of the busiest days of the year for travellers returning from holidays which has resulted in delays at our check-in counters at Sydney Airport this morning. Each of our check-in counters are fully staffed and we are working hard to have guests on their way as quickly as possible. During peak travel periods we encourage guests to check-in online, arrive at the airport early, and listen out for announcements made in the terminal."

According to the spokesman, the delay was caused by the arrival of a cruise ship docking that morning and the inflow of passengers that arrived on the Sydney Airport terminal. The spokesman explained that the two things combined (the cruise ship and the travellers returning to work after holidays) lead to delays at the terminal.

Virgin Australia also tweeted from its account:

"Guests travelling today are encouraged to arrive early at the airport and allow extra time to check-in during this peak travel period."

In the meantime, the check-in lines have returned to normal.