Australia: Dozens of flights grounded in wild weather

Dozens of flights have been grounded in Melbourne and Sydney as wild winds lash Australia's south-east. Thirty-one domestic flights have so far been cancelled out of Melbourne, mostly because of the weather. No international flights have been affected at this stage. Both Melbourne and Sydney airports have just one runway open for domestic flights, meaning fewer planes can land. Qantas said it had cancelled about a dozen domestic flights by early Friday afternoon. "We're asking customers to check their flight status for updates and we hope to get everyone to their destination today," a Qantas spokesman said. Other passengers were hit with delays and long queues at the airports. Airlines were warning passengers to check their flight status on Friday. "There's windy weather about, which is affecting services across our network. Sorry, we know this blows," Virgin Australia said on Twitter. Jetstar said strong winds in Sydney had caused cancellations and delays to domestic flights.<br/>