Turmoil As String Of Christmas Eve Flights Are Ditched Last Minute

Chaos has erupted across airports after Jetstar and Virgin Australia have removed dozens of Christmas eve flights.

Thousands of interstate travellers have been devastated to find that their flights on busy routes between Victoria, NSW, Queensland and South Australia have been cancelled ahead of the festive season.

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News Corp Australia are reporting that in a shock move, around 35 flights have been pulled from Thursday's schedule, and 14 on Friday's, leaving interstate travellers lost and abandoned.

Today's scratch schedule includes up to 12 Virgin flights between Melbourne and Sydney, while Jetstar have cancelled 10 flights between the two cities.

Furthermore, another 20-plus flights between Gold Coast, Adelaide and Brisbane have also been ditched or rescheduled between both airlines.

Passengers were reportedly alerted to their cancelled Jetstar flights as late as 9pm on Thursday, while a Virgin spokesperson said that passengers were notified earlier in the week.

Some replacement flights have reportedly been offered, however the detoured routes via other cities have arrival delays edging towards eight-hours.

It comes after a week of chaotic pre-departure testing requirements and border passes required to join family and friends for Christmas, or holiday interstate.

People travelling to Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory are required to receive a negative PCR test prior to travel.

The mandate has seen thousands of Aussies queuing up to get tested, causing major disruption and chaos at testing clinics and sites across the country.

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