Australia’s busiest airport is desperately trying to hire thousands of staff as holiday-starved Aussies race to book a trip away.
Sydney Airport will hold a massive jobs fair next Thursday, on June 16, with roles available in security, baggage handling, government agencies, airlines, hospitality and retail.
The airport says it’s ‘urgently recruiting’ new team members to help with the influx of passengers hoping to get away after two years of border closures from the Covid pandemic.
There are around 800 businesses all operating at Sydney Airport, with masks mandatory inside the terminals.
The fair will run between the hours of 10am and 4pm and is taking place in the T1 International Terminal.
‘The jobs fair will give you an opportunity to talk to different employers at the airport. Over 40 businesses will be joining us on the day,’ the airport said.
Sydney Airport is looking to hire thousands of staff as they prepare for an influx of passengers wanting to travel abroad
The airport says it’s ‘urgently recruiting’ new team members and will hold a jobs fair next Thursday
The urgent callout for staff comes after countless passengers complained about huge wait times before boarding their flights, and even longer delays trying to get their passports.
At the end of April passengers at Sydney Airport were seen waiting in lines that stretched to up to 300 metres long, as queues snaked around the security checkpoints.
Similar delays were seen earlier that month for travellers planning a trip for the start of school holidays with queues stretching to one kilometre long.
Passengers complained of missing their flights while some claimed the long hold-up in the terminals was worsened by queue jumpers barging to the front of the lines.
At the end of April passengers were seen waiting in lines that stretched to up to 300 metres long, as queues snaked around the security checkpoints
A huge queue of travellers is seen at Sydney Airport in April
Airport bosses blamed school holidays, a shortage of security personnel and, remarkably, forgetful passengers out of the habit of removing items from their luggage for scanning.
A spokesman told Daily Mail Australia at the time: ‘We’re incredibly grateful to passengers for their ongoing patience and for treating each other and airport workers with kindness and respect.
‘We have significant COVID-related staff shortages and we’re also working to rebuild our workforce in a really tight jobs market. Unfortunately this is an industry-wide issue and airports and airlines around the world are experiencing similar challenges.’
More recently those wanting to travel abroad have been set back by massive delays in getting their passports, or having them renewed.
Some have been waiting three months to get their passports, with many fearing they’ll have to postpone or cancel their holidays altogether.
With 2.4million passports expiring over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, processing times have doubled since October (pictured, lines outside the Sydney passport office)
Sydney university student Ed Andronicus has been waiting nine weeks for his new passport which he needs when he travels to Bali next month.
A technical glitch at the city’s passport office on Tuesday made it all the more difficult, with some residents waiting all day just to be turned away.
‘Been waiting at Sydney passport office for almost nine hours today. No communication about what is going on, people being turned away who have been waiting all day with flights tomorrow, because the printers have been turned off now (they were meant to close at 4pm). Appalling,’ one woman fumed.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) advised holidaymakers to allow six weeks for their new passport, however many say they have waited longer.
Sydney’s passport office usually receives 7,000 to 9,000 applications every week, however requests in recent months have ballooned to 12,000.
It was a similar story at the Melbourne office, where desperate Aussies – including mothers with children – have spent three hours waiting in the cold.
A DFAT spokeswoman has since apologised for the delays and said waiting times should level out ‘over the coming weeks’.
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