Surge in Sydney coronavirus cases prompts flight cancellations

A large number of flights arriving at and departing from Sydney have been cancelled, following a fresh coronavirus outbreak in parts of the Australian city. A new virus cluster, first discovered in northern Sydney a week ago, has grown to more than 80 cases so far, leading to lockdowns imposed in the city, and state borders closed — days before Christmas. Checks on Sydney airport’s website shows that three of Australia’s largest carriers — Qantas, Jetstar, as well as Virgin Australia — cancelled at least 49 flights in total, as at 21 December evening local time. These include flights to Melbourne — one of the country’s major domestic trunk routes — as well as to Perth, Gold Coast and Adelaide. There are a similar number of flights cancelled on 22 December, according to Sydney airport’s flight schedules. Qantas says it and low-cost unit Jetstar have seen “large numbers of customers cancelling their bookings” for Sydney-Melbourne and other domestic routes from 21 December. “A number of flights will be cancelled as a result. We’ll be contacting customers directly impacted by any flight changes,” the carrier adds.<br/>