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Flight Cancellations Rise Due to Staff Shortages in Australia
Confirmed
In Short: Flight cancellations have increased due to worker shortages, with one flight being cancelled every three days on average.
Flight cancellations have increased due to worker shortages, with one flight being cancelled every three days on average, according to Airservices Australia. The government agency's deputy CEO, Peter Curran, reported that 2,536 cancellations occurred over the year to 31 August, with 121 attributed to Airservices. Just this morning, the airport recorded 14 inbound cancellations and more outbound cancellations, after some overnight staff were unavailable, Curran said.
Retired staff have been asked to return to work, but some are not interested, Curran noted. There are currently about 1,100 air traffic controllers working across Australia, with 91 expected to join in the coming year. Airservices aims to have enough on-call staff to cover two absences a day by March 2027, although it's not an ironclad model, Curran said.
Across advanced economies, declining fertility rates, ageing populations, and shrinking workforces are creating structural labour shortages that curtail economic growth, according to reports. Australia, built around coal, iron ore, and uranium, is facing its own challenges. The government has relaxed gas supply rules for producers to secure enough gas for the domestic market.
Australia’s government has relaxed gas supply rules for producers aimed at securing enough gas for the domestic market. Originally, the rules stipulated that producers should reserve 20% of output for the Australian market. The proposal was first tabled in May this year, in response to worries about looming gas shortages in parts of the country, notably the east coast. The east coast of Australia is particularly vulnerable to supply shortages, and the competition authority still warns of the risk of shortages.
Background
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It has a land area of 7,688,287 km2 (2,968,464 sq mi), making it the sixth-largest country in the world, and is the world's flattest and driest inhabited continent.
What's confirmed
- Flight cancellations have increased due to worker shortages, with one flight being cancelled every three days on average, according to Airservices Australia. The government agency's deputy CEO, Peter Curran, reported that 2,536 cancellations occurred over the year to 31 August, with 121 attributed to Airservices. Just this morning, the airport recorded 14 inbound cancellations and more outbound cancellations, after some overnight staff were unavailable, Curran said.
- Retired staff have been asked to return to work, but some are not interested, Curran noted. There are currently about 1,100 air traffic controllers working across Australia, with 91 expected to join in the coming year. Airservices aims to have enough on-call staff to cover two absences a day by March 2027, although it's not an ironclad model, Curran said.
- Across advanced economies, declining fertility rates, ageing populations, and shrinking workforces are creating structural labour shortages that curtail economic growth, according to reports. Australia, built around coal, iron ore, and uranium, is facing its own challenges. The government has relaxed gas supply rules for producers to secure enough gas for the domestic market.
- Australia’s government has relaxed gas supply rules for producers aimed at securing enough gas for the domestic market. Originally, the rules stipulated that producers should reserve 20% of output for the Australian market. The proposal was first tabled in May this year, in response to worries about looming gas shortages in parts of the country, notably the east coast. The east coast of Australia is particularly vulnerable to supply shortages, and the competition authority still warns of the risk of shortages.
What's still developing
- Queensland’s budget performance would remain “very weak” over the next two to three years compared to peers with a similar rating, S&P said on Friday.
- Australia Softens Gas Reservation Rule for LNG Exporters What I Cover Irina Slav has been writing about global energy markets since 2007, covering the oil and gas industry, energy security, commodities, and the… Australia’s government has relaxed gas supply rules for producers aimed at securing enough gas for the domestic market.
- This is more than enough to offset projected shortages of some 140 petajoules, Energy Minister Chris Bowen said, as quoted by Reuters.