Footy fans stranded at Melbourne Airport with multiple outbound flights cancelled

Footy fans have been left stranded at Melbourne airport with with multiple outbound flights on Sunday cancelled at short notice.

Virgin has been forced to cancel at least seven Sunday flights bound for Perth, and the knock-on effect means at least two Melbourne-bound morning flights out of Perth have also been cancelled.

Other flights are facing delays, while Qantas has also pulled the pin on its services that was due to depart at 8am and 5.50pm.

Qantas and Virgin had both stacked on a large number of additional flights into and out of the Victorian capital for Perth and Brisbane fans in the lead up to and days following yesterday’s grand final.

Virgin had scheduled 29 planed to head back across the Nullabor today, but its 6am, 6.20am, 6.45am, 10.10am, 3.40pm and 4pm flights will not fly.

Other affected destinations include Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide, Gold Coast and Canberra.

Jetstar has also cancelled some flights into some of those cities.

It is understood that issues with staffing were behind some of Sunday’s cancellations, with a Virgin Australia spokesperson telling The Nightly: “Low visibility and poor weather led air traffic control to limit arrivals into Melbourne yesterday.

“The resulting delays have carried into today’s operation, contributing to further delays and some cancellations.

“Our team is working hard to get guests to their destinations safely and as soon as possible, including adding additional services.”