New data: Launceston flights most disrupted in Australia

According to May on-time performance figures published by the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics, Launceston Airport, at 49 per cent, recorded the lowest percentage of on-time arrivals of any air hub in the country.

About 12 per cent of all flights departing the city for Melbourne were cancelled in May, while 11.3 per cent of Launceston-bound flights from Melbourne were cancelled.

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Only 36 per cent of Melbourne-bound flights from Launceston took off on time, and only 42 per cent arrived in Melbourne on schedule.

While delays affected flights between Launceston and Sydney, none were cancelled throughout May, the figures show.

Looking at specific airlines running services on that route, Qantas' regional arm, Qantaslink, performed the worst - it cancelled 25 per cent of its Melbourne-bound flights out of Launceston during May, and barely 20 per cent of its flights bound for Melbourne arrived on time.

A spokesperson for Qantas said the pandemic was one of the reasons behind the delays and cancellations.

"We know this level of disruption isn't acceptable and we apologise to our customers who have been impacted," the spokesperson said.

"Our schedule between Melbourne and Launceston means that if we have to cancel a flight, we're almost always able to re-accommodate passengers on the same day and usually within a few hours."

"During July, we are operating the larger Boeing 717 aircraft on flights between Melbourne and Launceston to help improve reliability."

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Jetstar similarly performed poorly - it cancelled 5 per cent of its Launceston to Melbourne flights, and of those that departed, only 41 per cent arrived on schedule.

Speaking last week as he warned Launceston travellers to arrive early amid the school holiday rush, Launceston Airport chief executive Shane O'Hare blamed the airlines' poor performance on pandemic-related staff shortages.

But as recent cancellations show, passengers to and from Launceston are still being inconvenienced into July.

Pipers Brook resident Jane Lewis, who was travelling from Sydney to Launceston on a Virgin Airlines flight in late June, told The Examiner that her flight was cancelled without warning.

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"There was no spoken announcement, the sign on board changed. It was absolute chaos, and when we went to get baggage, it took over an hour, the baggage people said they only had two baggage handlers working," she said.

The airline offered $220 for hotel accommodation, and none of her fellow passengers could not find rooms at that price, she said.

"There were lots of people getting on in age who know nothing about Sydney, it was causing a lot of anxiety. None got a hotel for the $220, so they were all out of pocket."

"Fortunately, I was going home from the funeral which was the reason for my journey, but some passengers would miss weddings, job interviews, medical appointments."

She noted that businesses in other industries were not failing their customers "in this systematically dismissive manner due to COVID and other contributing factors."

"It's time the government intervened. Or maybe there's a law firm out there willing to start a class action for the thousands of people who are let down daily by airlines.

In a post to social media, another Launceston-bound traveller, Tracey Muir, said her early-morning Sunday flight to Launceston was cancelled, forcing her to wait 10 hours in the airport.

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