Australia's international flights resume after passport system outage hit hard

Following worldwide flight disruptions prompted by a flight-control issue affecting Airbus's A320 aircraft, international travellers were left stranded at Australian airports, facing flight delays due to a nationwide passport system outage.

With Melbourne and Sydney airports enduring the hardest blows of the Australian passport system outage, the long passenger queues began to clear as the issue was resolved.

Irked by hours-long flight delays, passengers reportedly waited in lengthy queues to have their passports processed, with lines stretching through the terminals.

In the wake of the passport outage countrywide, the Australian Border Force (ABF) reportedly resorted to manual processing until the technical problem was back to normal.

What caused Australia's passport system outage?

The cause of this wide-ranging passport system outage in Australia is still under investigation, an ABF spokesperson stated while thanking travellers for their patience during the flight disruptions.

A spokesperson for Melbourne Airport explained that the ABF had confirmed the nationwide issue was affecting all passengers. “The ABF is processing passengers manually,” they noted, adding that efforts were underway to resume flights to and manage passenger flows effectively.

While Melbourne and Sydney airports witnessed the system fallout the most, Adelaide International Airport remained unaffected, with only one international flight scheduled for this morning and another planned for the evening.