Sydney’s Airport Screeners Are Walking Out Again, Twice in One Day

Security screeners at Sydney Airport are set to stop work twice on Friday, October 30, from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. and again from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The workers are employed by Certis, the contractor Sydney Airport uses for passenger screening, and the action is organized by the Transport Workers’ Union. It would be the third walkout in the dispute, after one in late September and another on October 16.

The October 16 action ran four hours in the morning and four in the evening and involved hundreds of workers across domestic and international terminals. This time the windows are an hour shorter each, but they start earlier. Jetstar has warned that customers leaving from domestic Terminal 2 may face delays reaching their gates, while Virgin Australia says screening will stay open but may run at reduced capacity.

Both airlines are letting affected passengers rebook without paying extra. Virgin Australia says travelers departing Sydney on October 30 can move to October 29 or October 31, and Jetstar allows a switch to any available flight between October 29 and 31 through Manage Booking. Jetstar suggests choosing a flight outside the two stoppage windows. At the time of the reports, Qantas had not posted a matching notice on its alerts page.

The union says Certis plans to cut minimum weekly hours by six, while Certis says it has made a fresh offer and is disappointed the union went ahead with industrial action. Sydney Airport is not a party to the talks and says it is working with its partners to limit disruption. Anyone flying out on Friday should arrive well ahead of schedule or take up the free change offers.

Sources: AeroCorner, Wego