A significant technical failure in Australia's passport control system has thrown international travel into disarray, causing extensive delays for hundreds of passengers at major airports across the country.
Chaos at Departure Gates
The disruption, which began on Sunday, sparked scenes of chaos at key travel hubs including Melbourne and Sydney airports. Frustrated travellers were confronted with long, snaking queues at departure terminals as authorities scrambled to manage the situation.
A spokesperson for Melbourne Airport confirmed that the Australian Border Force (ABF) had advised them of a nationwide system issue that was impacting all international passengers attempting to depart.
Manual Processing Implemented
In response to the critical system failure, the Australian Border Force has reverted to processing all travellers manually. This labour-intensive process has significantly slowed down the usual flow of passengers through border controls.
The airport spokesperson stated, 'We are currently prioritising flights to manage passenger flows.' This triage system is an attempt to ensure that the most urgent departures are processed first, minimising the knock-on effect for flight schedules.
Appeal for Passenger Patience
With no immediate resolution in sight, airport authorities have publicly appealed for understanding from those affected. The Melbourne Airport spokesperson added, 'We appreciate passengers' patience as ABF works to resolve this issue.'
As the manual checks continue, passengers are being advised to allow for considerable extra time when heading to the airport and to stay in close contact with their airlines for specific flight updates. The full extent and cause of the nationwide outage are yet to be confirmed.
