Australia’s Sydney Airport staff shortages prompt plan to close tower overnight

Australia’s major airlines have backed a proposal to close Sydney Airport’s control tower overnight to free up air traffic controllers, the latest step to address a persistent labour shortage that is disrupting flights and raising safety concerns.

“It sounds like an opportunity we should absolutely explore,” said Stephen Beckett, chief executive officer of Airlines for Australia & New Zealand, the group that represents Qantas Airways, its low-cost carrier Jetstar, and Virgin Australia Holdings. “There seems to be some merit to this proposal,” he said in an interview.

At least six safety incidents, close calls and mistakes on the tarmac at Sydney since late July have put a spotlight on the lack of controllers and the impact on air travel. Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson last month called for the issue to be fixed after 60,000 passengers were affected by flight delays in July alone.

The proposal to close the tower was raised at the meeting of a task force specially formed last month to address the disruption in Sydney.