Passengers face major delays at Sydney, Melbourne and Perth airports after air traffic control staffing shortages caused widespread disruption.

Airservices Australia issued an urgent alert on Tuesday morning to warn travellers to expect delays of up to an hour.

More than one quarter of all flights in and out of the three airports are expected to be delayed.

Ground delays are expected to continue throughout the day in Melbourne, while restrictions at Sydney Airport are due to lift at 2pm.

Strong winds have also disrupted flights in Sydney, where Qantas has cancelled at least three flights.

‘Strong winds are affecting operations at Sydney Airport and flight delays are expected throughout the day,’ Airservices Australia said.

Hundreds of flights are expected to be impacted on Tuesday.

‘It’s so frustrating my flight was delayed twice and I was trying to get to Canberra for business,’ one passenger travelling from Sydney told the Daily Mail.

Passengers face major delays at Sydney and Melbourne airports after air traffic control staffing shortages caused widespread disruption

Ground delays are expected to continue throughout the day in Melbourne and Sydney

‘The airport needs to step up their game and sort this out – this is not good enough.’

Passengers are urged to check their flight status before heading to the airport.

‘We thank passengers for their patience and understanding,’ Airservices Australia added.

The delays come amid growing safety concerns at Sydney Airport after a crew member was injured in the second tarmac near-miss in as many weeks.

Two employees were stood down for mandatory testing after a Jetstar flight departing Sydney Airport for the Gold Coast almost collided with a Qatar Airways plane on Sunday morning.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has launched a formal investigation into the incident, while Airservices Australia chief executive Rob Sharp was summoned to Canberra for emergency talks with the federal government.

He apologised for the series of flight delays at Sydney Airport in recent days.

‘I want to assure the public that safety is not compromised when issues with staffing levels occur,’ Sharp said.

Strong winds in Sydney have added to the travel chaos

Jetstar and Qatar planes were involved in a near-miss while taxiing on the runway at Sydney Airport on Sunday morning

‘We put in place measures that reduce the traffic levels to ensure safety, but this can lead to flight delays.’  

He added that recruitment of air traffic controllers is tracking well, despite warnings of widespread shortages.

‘However we understand that any delay has an impact on passengers and we are committed to making further improvements, particularly in Sydney,’ Mr Sharp said.

‘While concerted recruitment efforts in recent years have enabled us to grow air traffic controller numbers to a record high, the demands on our workforce have also grown significantly.’

Federal Transport Minister Catherine King was confident Airservices would adopt the necessary changes.

‘We’ve had a very constructive discussion about measures they are putting in place to ensure there is better rostering at Sydney Airport,’ she said.

‘What happened over the weekend, they accept, was unacceptable for passengers in particular.’