According to data from FlightAware, Sydney Airport has ranked among the world’s worst over the past few months in terms of flight delays and cancellations.
Data from the flight tracking and data platform, FlightAware, is showing that Sydney Airport is ranking among the world’s worst. Over the last two months, SYD has had 5.9 percent of flights canceled, sixth worst globally; and has had 34.2 percent of flights delayed, which ranks in at ninth worst. Before you have more senseless statistics thrown at you, it’s important to identify what’s causing these problems— corporate greed.
This situation is one that has been in the making over the last several years. Many Australian-based airlines, and airlines in other countries, including Qantas, performed mass layoffs during the pandemic to minimize the loss of profits. Now, it’s 2022 and flights are beginning to pick up again but the airlines have not followed suit.
Workplace conditions are worsening for the workers who remained after the mass layoffs as flights increase. These conditions include pay disputes and an understaffed workplace, leading many workers to take action in nations all across the world, including Australia. To blame the workers who have endured until now, instead of the corporate mismanagement, would be like blaming firefighters who couldn’t save a burning building instead of the arson who started the fire.
Airlines such as Qantas and its CEO Alan Joyce will do whatever they can to subtly shift the blame away from themselves and onto others, with statements such as, “these flight delays and cancellations are not the kind of performance that we were delivering pre-COVID and we know they are not at the level that our customers expect,” coming from Qantas spokespersons. This shifts the blame onto the performance of others and away from the corporate greed and mismanagement displayed by upper management.
Qantas has been known for bringing in strikebreakers or “scabs” in the past to “complement their workforce.” This makes statements such as the ones below especially insidious due to their focus on maximizing performance rather than improving the workplace conditions of the existing employees and a commitment to long-term and stable employment.
“Everyone at Qantas and Jetstar is focused on turning this performance around,” the spokesperson said.
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“Flight cancellations this month are lower than they were in June, call centre wait times are now better than they were pre-COVID and our mishandled bag rates are close to what they were before the pandemic.”
According to the Australian Transport Department, “THESE ARE THE WORST ON-TIME PERFORMANCE FIGURES RECORDED SINCE RECORDING COMMENCED IN NOVEMBER 2003.”
The three worst airports in terms of cancellations over the past two months were Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport in China (7.9 percent canceled), Newark Liberty International Airport in the United States (7.4 percent canceled), and LaGuardia Airport in the US (7 percent canceled).
The three worst airports in terms of delays over the past two months were Toronto Pearson International Airport in Canada (52.5 percent delayed), Frankfurt Airport in Germany (45.4 percent delayed), and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport in France (43.2 percent delayed).
