Airnorth flights between Darwin and East Kimberley Regional Airport delayed 56 percent of time

If you were stuck at Perth or Darwin airports waiting on your delayed Airnorth flight TL331 to Kununurra in the last six months, you weren’t alone — in fact you were in the majority of frustrated passengers The Kimberley Echo has audited major flights arriving and departing the East Kimberley Regional Airport since the beginning of June and discovered the worst performing route was Airnorth’s flight TL331 between Perth and Darwin via Kununurra which was delayed 56 percent of the time. Airnorth flights between Kununurra and Darwin are becoming so unreliable people are choosing to drive eight hours and 39 minutes to the Top End rather than risk the hour-long flight being cancelled at the last minute. On one occasion earlier this month passengers arrived to catch their scheduled flight to Darwin after receiving texts saying it was due to land — only to find the airport shut. Travellers between Broome and Kununurra face similar problems as 27 percent of the time Airnorth’s flight TL333 is delayed on that route. Virgin Australia is not much better. Their flights VA1637 and VA1638 from Perth to Kununurra were delayed 33 percent of the time. The Kimberley Echo used live air traffic website Flightradar24 to audit all major flights in and out of East Kimberley Regional Airport between November 13 and June 1. Other Airnorth flights between Darwin and Kununurra TL332 and TL338, were delayed 30 percent and 33 percent of the time respectively. Shire of Wyndham and East Kimberley president David Menzel, whose flight from Broome to Kununurra on Saturday November 12 was delayed four hours, said it made people feel nervous about booking flights. “It is so risky trying to fly between Broome, Kununurra and Darwin you really have to allow plenty of time in case something goes wrong — even an extra day,” he said. “You are pretty much expecting the flight is going to be late. It is extremely hard to do business, Zoom meetings can only do so much, sometimes you just need to be there.” Mr Menzel said in the past it used to be exceptional if your flight was rescheduled to another day, however it seemed to be happening more regularly now. “I have known people recently, they have been told a week before that their flights are not going that day so they need to fly a day earlier or a day later.” Despite the unreliableness of air travel in the Kimberley Mr Menzel said he had sympathy for airlines as they battled staff shortages due to the pandemic. “The airlines are doing extraordinary things to get people home and away,” he said. In September, Airnorth warned customers their flights would be impacted because of flight crew shortages. The Darwin-based company, like many other airlines, is experiencing a shortage of pilots and unprecedented levels of sick leave amongst staff due to the pandemic. East Kimberley Chamber of Commerce president Amanda McLean agreed flight delays had become worse. “It’s been impacted by staff shortages due to COVID. I think you wouldn’t want to throw the airlines under the bus, they are doing the best they can although it can be frustrating,” she said. A spokesperson for Virgin Australia said that throughout the year COVID-19 cases as well as usual winter illnesses impacted the business. It came at a time when airlines were experiencing huge demand from travellers. Since then they have employed an extra 500 people in key operational roles, meaning there are more pilots, cabin crew and baggage handlers.