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News.com.au
6 hours ago
- News.com.au
Annoying Sydney Airport rule on the way out
Sydney Airport is one step closer to fully digitising its international arrivals process and ditching the manual process for good. Travellers desperately searching for a pen to fill in an orange card was a frustration many complained about. However, as part of an expanded pilot program, Qantas passengers flying from Auckland (QF144) and Queenstown (QF122) to Sydney on Wednesday were able to skip the paper incoming passenger card and complete their declaration digitally through the Qantas app before their flight. The trial is in partnership with Sydney Airport, Qantas and border authorities, with an aim to make air travel to and from Australia smoother, faster, and more tech-forward. It was previously tested on select Qantas flights into Brisbane but has now expanded to other services on the Qantas network. The airline is the first in the country to trial the program. Qantas International & Freight CEO, Cam Wallace said described it as a 'significant step forward' in simplifying the arrival process into Australia. '[The] overwhelmingly positive response from our customers in Brisbane has demonstrated just how much demand there is for this innovation,' he said. Now having expanded to Sydney Airport, eligible passengers will receive a digital pass with a QR code, which they can simply show to border and biosecurity officers before making their onward journey. Scott Charlton, Sydney Airport CEO, who thanked those involved, said every international service brings in $130 million in annual economic benefit and supports 1,200 full time jobs. 'So making our border processes more efficient is an important investment in boosting national productivity,' he said in a statement. Eventually, the process will become contactlesss using digital credentials and facial recognition to streamline passenger journeys. Minister for Home Affairs and Immigration Tony Burke said when people arrive in Sydney, he wants them out of the airport and experiencing the city as fast as possible. 'Extending the trial to Australia's busiest airport means every day, hundreds more passengers will have a more seamless travel experience,' he added. The trial forms part of broader efforts to improve the arrival experience at Sydney Airport, including the recent installation of eight new ABF SmartGate kiosks at T1, which according to the airport, has boosted processing capacity by 640 passengers per hour. 'This pilot is helping simplify traveller clearances while ensuring strong biosecurity protections at Australia's borders,' Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Julie Collins said. 'Expanding the pilot is a win-win for incoming travellers to Australia and for Australia's proud agricultural industry which is protected by our world-renowned biosecurity system.' By early 2026, a further 32 new SmartGate kiosks will be deployed across the international precinct at Sydney Airport doubling the total number of kiosks in the terminal.
Sydney Morning Herald
10 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
The world's biggest passenger planes keep breaking down
However, with the capacity to carry 485 passengers or more, delays caused by mechanical failures can be costly and create a cascade of scheduling headaches. A Qantas Airways A380 on the flagship Sydney-London route broke down in Singapore on May 7 with fuel-pump problems. The onward flight to London was pushed back more than 24 hours and passengers accommodated in hotels. That was at least the second fuel-pump issue to delay QF1 in Singapore since Qantas reactivated its A380s. More recently, Qantas passengers who were due to depart Singapore on July 14 for Sydney on an A380 were delayed for days because of technical difficulties. Plans to retrieve them sooner were complicated by damage to another A380 at Sydney airport, when an aerobridge slammed into one of the engines. A British Airways A380, G-XLEB, recently spent more than 100 days in Manila. After returning to London Heathrow in mid-June, it flew just seven days of the next 30, according to Flightradar24. Still, IAG SA-owned British Airways from next year will embark on an interior upgrade program, including overhauling A380 cabins, suggesting the airline will keep flying the plane for years. For airlines using the A380, large-capacity alternatives are scarce. Boeing's new 777X is years behind schedule and Airbus can't make long-haul A350s fast enough. Meanwhile, A380 operators are left with an out-of-production superjumbo that will only become more needy and more expensive to run. In online aviation forums, some services are gaining a name for breakdowns, cancellations or overnight delays. In a statement, Airbus said the A380 'continues to operate scheduled services with a high level of operational reliability, standing at 99 per cent for the global fleet over the past 12 months. Airbus is committed to providing full technical support to customers to ensure that they can optimise operations with their A380 fleets, and this will continue as long as the aircraft remains in service.' Loading 60,000 hours Meanwhile, A380s are taking up space and manpower in workshops around the world, exacerbating a shortage of repair facilities for the wider commercial fleet. A comprehensive check of the massive plane can consume 60,000 hours of labour, according to aircraft repairer Lufthansa Technik. Qantas is sending some double-deckers to Dresden in Germany to be overhauled; British Airways flies its to Manila for repairs; and Emirates, the world's biggest operator of A380s, maintains some in China. Some of the aircraft's recent faults stem from prolonged periods on the ground during the pandemic, when airlines parked their A380s in the Californian desert, central Spain or the Australian outback. An airworthiness directive from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency on May 16 ordered emergency inflatable escape slides to be replaced. Glued seams had split, probably due to exposure to moisture and heat during storage. The fault could have fatal consequences, EASA said. On April 7, EASA ordered inspections on A380s after cracked sealant was found on fittings attaching the landing gear to the wings. A directive in April last year required some landing gear axles to be replaced after a rupture on a plane that had been in storage since 2020. The future of the A380 was already in doubt when COVID-19 halted global travel in early 2020. The year before, Airbus had killed off production after underwhelming sales. When COVID-19 receded and borders reopened, the A380 suddenly found new purpose. Travel boomed and carriers including Singapore Airlines, Deutsche Lufthansa and Qantas once again embraced the plane's unrivalled carrying power. In a statement, British Airways called the A380 'a vital part of our long-haul fleet. Through working closely with Airbus, we've seen consistent year-on-year improvements in its reliability.' Qantas said the plane 'is a key part of our international network, and we'll continue to fly them for years to come. All Qantas A380s have gone through a scheduled major maintenance overhaul in recent years, as well as significant upgrades to the cabin interiors.' Other A380 operators were reluctant to provide specific details. Asiana Airlines said 'issues related to aircraft operations and maintenance are difficult to disclose externally.' Korean Air Lines said it 'maintains its A380 fleet to the highest safety standards, in strict accordance with all regulatory requirements and manufacturer guidelines'. Singapore Airlines said its 12 A380s are important to operations but it was 'unable to comment on specifics'. The company said it works closely with 'Airbus and our suppliers to ensure the ongoing reliability and serviceability of our A380 fleet'. To be sure, the A380 still has fans. Emirates, which has cannibalised some A380s for spare parts, plans to keep flying the aircraft until the end of next decade. The airline's president, Tim Clark, has likened the jet to a huge vacuum cleaner capable of gobbling up passengers like no other plane. Loading Reliability issues are the latest twist for a superjumbo that has almost always been divisive. Passengers still love the A380's cavernous interiors and audacious scale. Airlines wrestle with its logistics needs — from longer runways to extra-large hangars — as well as the mechanical dramas. Supply chain constraints have increased the price of parts, servicing and engine repairs on all major aircraft, said Eddy Pieniazek, Ishka's head of advisory. 'With the A380 being of its size and having four engines, this escalation in maintenance costs has become even more noticeable,' said Pieniazek.
The Age
10 hours ago
- The Age
The world's biggest passenger planes keep breaking down
However, with the capacity to carry 485 passengers or more, delays caused by mechanical failures can be costly and create a cascade of scheduling headaches. A Qantas Airways A380 on the flagship Sydney-London route broke down in Singapore on May 7 with fuel-pump problems. The onward flight to London was pushed back more than 24 hours and passengers accommodated in hotels. That was at least the second fuel-pump issue to delay QF1 in Singapore since Qantas reactivated its A380s. More recently, Qantas passengers who were due to depart Singapore on July 14 for Sydney on an A380 were delayed for days because of technical difficulties. Plans to retrieve them sooner were complicated by damage to another A380 at Sydney airport, when an aerobridge slammed into one of the engines. A British Airways A380, G-XLEB, recently spent more than 100 days in Manila. After returning to London Heathrow in mid-June, it flew just seven days of the next 30, according to Flightradar24. Still, IAG SA-owned British Airways from next year will embark on an interior upgrade program, including overhauling A380 cabins, suggesting the airline will keep flying the plane for years. For airlines using the A380, large-capacity alternatives are scarce. Boeing's new 777X is years behind schedule and Airbus can't make long-haul A350s fast enough. Meanwhile, A380 operators are left with an out-of-production superjumbo that will only become more needy and more expensive to run. In online aviation forums, some services are gaining a name for breakdowns, cancellations or overnight delays. In a statement, Airbus said the A380 'continues to operate scheduled services with a high level of operational reliability, standing at 99 per cent for the global fleet over the past 12 months. Airbus is committed to providing full technical support to customers to ensure that they can optimise operations with their A380 fleets, and this will continue as long as the aircraft remains in service.' Loading 60,000 hours Meanwhile, A380s are taking up space and manpower in workshops around the world, exacerbating a shortage of repair facilities for the wider commercial fleet. A comprehensive check of the massive plane can consume 60,000 hours of labour, according to aircraft repairer Lufthansa Technik. Qantas is sending some double-deckers to Dresden in Germany to be overhauled; British Airways flies its to Manila for repairs; and Emirates, the world's biggest operator of A380s, maintains some in China. Some of the aircraft's recent faults stem from prolonged periods on the ground during the pandemic, when airlines parked their A380s in the Californian desert, central Spain or the Australian outback. An airworthiness directive from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency on May 16 ordered emergency inflatable escape slides to be replaced. Glued seams had split, probably due to exposure to moisture and heat during storage. The fault could have fatal consequences, EASA said. On April 7, EASA ordered inspections on A380s after cracked sealant was found on fittings attaching the landing gear to the wings. A directive in April last year required some landing gear axles to be replaced after a rupture on a plane that had been in storage since 2020. The future of the A380 was already in doubt when COVID-19 halted global travel in early 2020. The year before, Airbus had killed off production after underwhelming sales. When COVID-19 receded and borders reopened, the A380 suddenly found new purpose. Travel boomed and carriers including Singapore Airlines, Deutsche Lufthansa and Qantas once again embraced the plane's unrivalled carrying power. In a statement, British Airways called the A380 'a vital part of our long-haul fleet. Through working closely with Airbus, we've seen consistent year-on-year improvements in its reliability.' Qantas said the plane 'is a key part of our international network, and we'll continue to fly them for years to come. All Qantas A380s have gone through a scheduled major maintenance overhaul in recent years, as well as significant upgrades to the cabin interiors.' Other A380 operators were reluctant to provide specific details. Asiana Airlines said 'issues related to aircraft operations and maintenance are difficult to disclose externally.' Korean Air Lines said it 'maintains its A380 fleet to the highest safety standards, in strict accordance with all regulatory requirements and manufacturer guidelines'. Singapore Airlines said its 12 A380s are important to operations but it was 'unable to comment on specifics'. The company said it works closely with 'Airbus and our suppliers to ensure the ongoing reliability and serviceability of our A380 fleet'. To be sure, the A380 still has fans. Emirates, which has cannibalised some A380s for spare parts, plans to keep flying the aircraft until the end of next decade. The airline's president, Tim Clark, has likened the jet to a huge vacuum cleaner capable of gobbling up passengers like no other plane. Loading Reliability issues are the latest twist for a superjumbo that has almost always been divisive. Passengers still love the A380's cavernous interiors and audacious scale. Airlines wrestle with its logistics needs — from longer runways to extra-large hangars — as well as the mechanical dramas. Supply chain constraints have increased the price of parts, servicing and engine repairs on all major aircraft, said Eddy Pieniazek, Ishka's head of advisory. 'With the A380 being of its size and having four engines, this escalation in maintenance costs has become even more noticeable,' said Pieniazek.
