Virgin Australia passengers are being warned to expect significant delays after a technical glitch shut down their check-in systems at airports across the country. In a tweet on Monday afternoon, Virgin Australia confirmed guests may experience delays while trying to check-in, with ground crew assisting guests arriving at the airport. It is understood the congestion is being experienced at a number of check-in halls across the country, and some flights have been delayed as a result of the IT failure. In a statement to news.com.au, Virgin Australia said the glitch had now been resolved however there may still be delays to some passengers. “Please be advised the issue with our check-in system has been resolved and guests are being processed as normal for their flights,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “We apologise for any inconvenience caused by this issue. We encourage guests to check our Flight Status page for the most up to date information on their flight. One person claimed they had been sitting on the tarmac for an hour as a result of the glitch, while others claimed they were experiencing “two hours” of delays. “Every Virgin Australia flight is delayed from where I currently sit waiting at Gold Coast Airport,” one person said on Twitter. “Looking at a 2 hour delay so far. Other Virgin flights are up to 3 hours delayed.” Another passenger claimed the delays weren’t just being felt in the airport but also for passengers sitting on board an aircraft. “Maybe allow your crew to do something nice for the passengers who have been impacted - a biscuit perhaps,” one passenger wrote “I just had a 2 year old pee on the seat next to me!” Absolute chaos @BrisbaneAirport with @VirginAustralia computer system down. Passengers stuck in baggage lines for hours.. can’t print boarding passes or bag tags #Shambles pic.twitter.com/NpEcYPsSCa — Zane Bojack (@zanofc) May 13, 2019 Stuck in @SydneyAirport waiting for my @VirginAustralia flight to Melbourne. Flight delayed for more than 4 hours — Alfonso Ballestas (@alfballestas) May 13, 2019 Prior to the glitch being fixed, Virgin Australia it is understood Virgin staff were required to manually write down all passenger names, mark them off on a seat allocation plan and write their checked luggage code and weight on another form. @VirginAustralia my wife and i have a bet going about whether our 3pm flight with be delayed further, beyond the current 2 hour delay. if you're gonna make me wait then i'd better get something out of it — Ant Hayes (@antisant23) May 13, 2019 I understand the outage. However why am I sitting here with no food and water. Explain that to my daughter. This is NOT good enough. Even Jetstar handle things better than this. — Heath Meldrum (@HeathMeldrum) May 13, 2019 The incident follows a similar technical glitch last month, when electronic passport machines broke down in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane airports, causing hours of delays for international passengers. News.com.au has contacted Virgin Australia for comment. More to come<doc-sep>Virgin Australia says it has resolved a technical problem that was impacting its check-in system, as passengers report being "stuck in baggage lines for hours". Key points: The airline had earlier warned of delays due to an IT outage disrupting its check-in system The airline had earlier warned of delays due to an IT outage disrupting its check-in system The outage causes at least one flight to be cancelled, and photos posted online show large queues at a number of airports The outage causes at least one flight to be cancelled, and photos posted online show large queues at a number of airports The company says guests would now be processed as normal for their flights In a statement released on Monday afternoon, the airline said an IT outage was disrupting its network. "As a result, we are experiencing congestion at a number of our check-in halls at ports and some flights have been delayed," it said. "Our ground crew are on hand to assist guests arriving at the airport." It later said the issue had been resolved and guests were being processed as normal for their flights. The outage caused at least one flight to be cancelled, and photos posted online showed large queues at a number of airports. Loading "Passengers stuck in baggage lines for hours," ABC broadcaster Zane Bojack tweeted from Brisbane Airport. "Can't print boarding passes or bag tags." Similar scenes were seen in Melbourne, with passengers inundating the check-in hall. Customer Paul Sekfy, who was booked on a cancelled flight from Melbourne to Sydney, said it had been a frustrating experience. "Slowly but surely the look of dismay and frustration are starting to slowly dissipate," he said. "I'm sitting here trying to work out what to do in the next couple of hours." An IT systems outage was also blamed for long waits in processing passengers' passports at all Australian international airports last month. The IT problem, which hit all international airports, caused the SmartGate passport control machines to go down.<doc-sep>
There was chaos at airports across the country on Monday afternoon when Virgin Australia’s check-in system failed, forcing lengthy delays on customers. The airline said in a tweet about 1pm that the outage had affected its entire check-in system. “As a result, we are experiencing congestion at a number of our check-in halls at ports and some flights have been delayed,” it said. It warned passengers to expect delays Australia-wide. Customers took to social media to complain about the hold-ups, and being unable to print boarding passes or baggage labels. Among them was ABC Grandstand commentator Zane Bojack, who said there was chaos in the terminal at Brisbane Airport. Absolute chaos @BrisbaneAirport with @VirginAustralia computer system down. Passengers stuck in baggage lines for hours.. can’t print boarding passes or bag tags #Shambles pic.twitter.com/NpEcYPsSCa — Zane Bojack (@zanofc) May 13, 2019 Impressed to see how VA staff dealt with the chaos. Not easy. Our flight only delayed 1/2 hr at this stage. — LiseSutherlandFraser (@Carmilla5) May 13, 2019 Massively impressed with @VirginAustralia staff at the Melbourne domestic terminal today – there is an entire system outage and there’s a lot of confusion, agitated customers. I’ve observed staff being amazingly patient and kind. It’s not fun but these things happen. — Jason Imms (@jasonimms) May 13, 2019 Virgin Australia issues again, ticketing system just crashed and half the passengers can’t board….sitting on tarmac for another so far… — Xen (@xenoyr_official) May 13, 2019 Others complained about being likely to miss international connections because of the delays. In response, Virgin said the outage was a technical issue. IT teams were working to resolve it, is said, but gave no timeframe for resolution. Our IT teams are currently working to resolve this issue. We apologise for the inconvenience caused and will keep you updated as more information comes to hand. — Virgin Australia (@VirginAustralia) May 13, 2019 The Virgin Australia IT outage follows the failure of electronic passport machines at Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane airports on April 29, causing lengthy delays for international passengers.