Airlines back to normal after glitch

Hundreds of frustrated passengers voice their anger with Jetstar at Sydney Airport this morning. Picture: Jonty Bush/Facebook Source: The Daily Telegraph

The chaos at Melbourne Airport this morning with Jetstar and Virgin Australia check-in systems crashing. Source: Herald Sun

AIRLINE check-in systems affected by a computer glitch are back online and the queues of delayed passengers are clearing.

Jetstar, Virgin Australia and Tiger Airways are electronically checking in the backlog of passengers after having to manually process passengers  in Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Sydney during the two-hour IT outage. 

Frustrated passengers vented their anger after lengthy airport delays across the country .

Virgin staff handed out water bottled to disgruntled customers, many of whom had no idea when their flights would be called.

Jetstar, Virgin Australia and Tiger Airways this afternoon announced that the check-in system is now back in operation, although delays will continue as they work through the backlog.

"The system is back up and running now, but we are still expecting delays," Melissa Thomson of Virgin Australia said this afternoon.

"It's a domino effect as the same plane makes flights out of multiple airports throughout the day. Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth are taking the brunt."

A Jetstar spokesman said the outage caused delays across the airline's network and staff were working to process delayed passengers as quickly as possible.

"We know that this has inconvenienced our customers and we thank them for their patience as we process passengers,'' he said.

Tiger Airways spokeswoman Vanessa Regan said the Navitaire system came back online just before midday. She said the outage had caused a half an hour delay for several Tiger flights.

"We did have a couple of minimal delays but we expect to smooth those over now,'' Ms Regan said.

At Sydney Airport the delays exceeded two hours, with improvised boarding passes meaning there were no set seats.  "Sit where you like," passengers were told.

At Tullamarine Airport, Melbourne, most Jetstar and Virgin Australia flights had been delayed by up to four hours, with problems continuing when they were boarding, with seats having to be reallocated.

Jason English flew in to Sydney with wife Jenny and six-month old son Archie for a Cycling Australia function on Friday night, where he was named Australian Mountain Biker of the Year.

The young family turned up to Sydney Airport over three hours early for their 12.15pm flight back to Port Macquarie, so they could enjoy the Virgin Lounge for the first time.

Jason, speaking from amidst the "mob-like scenes" said they were shocked when they arrived.

"There's people everywhere," he said. "It was a bit of a rude surprise. If we had of known we would have stayed at our hotel in Circular Quay."

English said the confusion and lack of communication from Virgin staff was making passengers "freak out" across the terminal.

"We were lining up for over two hours in what we thought was a queue for check-in," he said. "Then they told us there were no queues and they were doing the planes one by one.

"Archie is not very happy, he definitely needs a sleep.

"We were going to get him some sleep in the lounge, but that's proved impossible."

English said Virgin had provided disgruntled passengers with improvised hand-written boarding passes without frequent flyer numbers written on them. Virgin is yet to confirm if passengers will be receiving frequent flyer points as a result of this morning's computer crash.

"It was going to be the highlight of our weekend," English said. "But it certainly isn't."

NBL team Adelaide 36ers are among the thousand-plus people waiting to check-in for their Virgin flights at Tullamarine's departure terminal.

Basketballer Adam Gibson said having their 10am flight home delayed was another blow to the team after losing to the Melbourne Tigers last night.

"It is definitely making (the loss) worse," Gibson, 26, said.

He said the team was planning on preparing for tomorrow's game against Perth but now had no idea what time they would arrive in Adelaide.

Delayed flights are being called individually so passengers can be manually boarded.

At 8.15am, a Courier-Mail reporter due to fly from Brisbane to Cairns said Jetstar's check-in system had crashed.

Brisbane Airport Corporation confirmed that Jetstar's check-in system had experienced an error that was delaying flights nation-wide.

A Herald Sun reporter due to board a 10am flight from Melbourne to Sydney said the Virgin Australia area at Tullamarine Airport was chaos, with hundreds of passengers waiting to be manually boarded.

She said Virgin staff told passengers the whole computer check-in system was down and they would manually board passengers, although that process is yet to begin. She added that the last flight to depart was the 9.40am to Maroochydore.

One of the passengers caught in this morning's chaos is 2009 Young Australian of the Year Jonty Bush who is attempting to return to Brisbane airport after a dinner last night with Prince Charles and Camilla in Sydney.

Chaotic scenes at Sydney domestic airport departure lounge as the booking system fails and thousands are left to be manually checked in by staff. Picture: Sam Ruttyn Source: The Sunday Telegraph

Having flown down with Qantas for the event organised by Governor-General Quentin Bryce with Qantas, Bush told The Sunday Telegraph she was kicking herself for not booking return flights with the Flying Kangaroo.

"I don't know why I always fall for this," she said. "I've had maybe two out of six successful flights with Jetstar."

Describing the scene at Sydney Airport, Bush said: "It's horrendous. There' no progression, no movement.

"We've got no idea what's going on, there's literally hundreds of people trying to check in and there's no computer kiosks working.

"It's out of control."

Inspiring ... Anti-violence advocate Jonty Bush with her Young Australian of the Year award in 2009. Picture: Gary Ramage Source: news.com.au

Bush was invited to Friday night's dinner thanks to her pioneering work in setting up the "One Punch Can Kill" campaign after losing family members to violence in her teens.

Melissa Thompson of Virgin Australia said: "We are having an issue, as is Jetstar," Melissa Thompson of Virgin Australia said.

"It is a slow process, but we are booking in passengers manually at the moment."

Virgin Australia said no flights had been cancelled.

The system crash has also affected the Jetstar website, with customers unable to search flights or book online.

Unimpressed passengers are turning to Twitter to vent their frustrations about the delays.

"Well this is fantastic! @VirginAustralia systems are down so looks like I'm stuck in Brisbane airport for who knows how long!," PetieRee tweeted.

efjohnhunter said: "@VirginAustralia check-in line is all the way down to the @JetstarAirways check-in desks. #SydneyAirport."

ssharwood tweeted: "@VirginAustralia experiencing "nationsl (sic) system outage" and all flights grounded in Sydney. Grumpy."

One Jetstar customer, Alex Cassimaty tweeted: "First there was trackwork, [sic] then my bus didn't show up and now Jetstar's check-in system is down. MELBOURNE WHY DON'T YOU WANT ME."

Bruce Ehrlich on the Daily Telegraph's Facebook page tweeted: "At Mackay airport waiting in line with Jet Star. Virgin and Qantas aren't having problems here only Jet Star!"

A Qantas spokeswoman confirmed the airline, which uses a different computer system to subsidiary Jetstar, was unaffected.

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Four kids linked to shopping centre fire

Fire crews rush to fight a blaze at a shopping centre in North Mackay. Picture: Seven News via Twitter. Source: Supplied

MACKAY police have arrested four children and declared an emergency situation as an "enormous fire" burns in North Mackay.

The blaze has been burning for four hours, demolished at least three businesses, put much of North Mackay in lockdown and continues to burn.

Major traffic chaos is being caused and local streets are in gridlock as residents try to move around Mackay.

Commuters have hit social media speaking of lengthy delays around the site.

Four children were arrested in relation to a fire in Mackay.

 

A police spokeswoman confirmed four juveniles were in police custody in relation to the incident.

One is understood to be a 15-year-old girl.

A fire at Mackay destroyed several buildings in a shopping centre.

The fire, first reported to police at around 11.45am, saw Toys'R'Us, Autobarn and Clark Rubber totally engulfed by flames and a huge smoke plume cover the area.

Additional fire crews - now numbering nine in total - were called to Greenfields Boulevard to fight the blaze, which remains out of control more than three hours after the first Triple-Zero call was made.

Busy Saturday trading at the Toys'r'us Mackay saw a mass evacuation from the building, with with no missing people reported.

A fire at Mackay destroyed several buildings in a shopping centre and caused a huge smoke plume in the area,

At 1.20pm, the roof of the Toys'R'Us was reported to be caving in.

The Bruce Highway at Nebo and all surrounding streets have been closed.

Motorists are advised to avoid the area.

More to come...

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Australian PM insists 'many' boats stopped

PRIME Minister Julia Gillard says the government's border protection policies are working, insisting co-operation with Indonesia has successfully disrupted "many" people-smuggling ventures.

Ms Gillard said the government would remain focused on targeting "high-value" people smugglers to stem the flow of boats.

"It is about continuing to focus on disruption activities, stopping people smugglers (and) particularly focusing on the high-value targets - the people who are the masterminds behind these ventures," Ms Gillard said in Bali on Friday.

Ms Gillard and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono discussed the people-smuggling issue during a meeting in the resort area of Nusa Dua in Bali on Friday.

"I believe when you look at the disruption statistics, for example, that our work with Indonesia has successfully disrupted many ventures from setting sail," she added.

But there have not been any recent arrests of people smugglers in Indonesia that could be considered high profile, while more than 800 people have arrived in Australia on 16 boats in the first nine days of November.

Most of the vessels originated from Indonesia, the main transit point for asylum seekers heading to Australia.

Ms Gillard said her government was "intensively engaged every day with Indonesia on combating people smuggling".

"We co-operate strongly with Indonesia at every level."

"The president of Indonesia has said to me today that he wants to continue that strong co-operation. He wants to keep working with us on what is a shared challenge."

Meanwhile, Immigration Minister Chris Bowen announced on Friday that a group of 33 Sri Lankan single adult men had been returned to home - the third involuntarily removal in as many days.

Since August 13, a total of 219 Sri Lankans had been returned home.

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Savile driver questioned over abuse claims

THE former flatmate and chauffeur of British TV presenter Jimmy Savile faces more questions from police after he was arrested over historic abuse allegations.

Ray Teret was held by officers from Greater Manchester Police by detectives investigating three separate claims of sexual abuse.

Two men aged 61 and 71 were arrested on Thursday in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, on suspicion of rape.

Police emphasised that the accusations were not linked to the national inquiry into abuse by disgraced TV presenter Savile, with whom Teret worked with and once shared a flat.

Detective Inspector Simon Davies said: "The arrest follows an investigation by the serious sexual offences unit into three separate allegations of historic sexual abuse which have been reported to Greater Manchester Police since October 28.

"I want to make it absolutely clear that this is not an investigation into the late Jimmy Savile, nor do any of the allegations relate to any involvement by Savile."

Savile's nephew Guy Marsden has backed calls for the body of the Top of the Pops presenter to be exhumed and cremated.

He said on Wednesday that he "100 per cent" supported families who called for Savile's body to be moved away from the graves of their loved ones in Scarborough's Woodlands Cemetery following claims that Savile abused 300 people over six decades.

Marsden said: "If it was one of mine who was buried there, I wouldn't like it if someone like Jimmy was in the same place."

Calls to dig up the late BBC star were made public at a Scarborough Borough Council meeting on Monday, during which the council voted to remove his name from its Freedom of the Borough honours list.

Filey councillor Colin Haddington said the family of a young child buried very close to Savile's grave was particularly distressed.

But council leaders said the decision to move the disgraced presenter could only be made by Savile's family and they had no current plans to exhume the body.

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Towel clue in dead baby case

Police say this towel is a new clue in the case of the dead baby found in Charters Towers. Source: The Courier-Mail

Police say a dress like this one was found in the area and is believed to be a clue to the case. Source: Supplied

A TOWEL is the latest piece of evidence found in the ongoing investigation into a baby's mysterious death in north Queensland.

The pink and blue floral towel has been discovered on a property close to where the infant's body was found on Sunday morning in Charters Towers.

SES personnel are believed to have found the towel as they carried out searches on nearby properties.

Police have appealed to anyone in the public who recognizes the towel to come forward.

Earlier this week they also released an image of a skirt which is similar to one found in the area.

Forensic testing so far has indicated the baby was around one month old however Detective Inspector David Nixon said testing is ongoing.

"Someone must know what has happened," said Detective Nixon.

"We are appealing for anyone who may have known someone who was recently pregnant, and cannot explain the loss of their baby to come forward.

"We are also urging the mother to come forward as we hold concerns for her welfare."

SES workers conduct a search in Charters Towers. Source: Supplied

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Leightons exec faces $20.7m fraud charge

THE finance manager of a Brisbane construction company has been charged with stealing $20.7 million from his employer during a 12-year stint with the company.

Leighton Contractors finance division manager Damian Victor O'Carrigan, 58, was arrested by detectives in Fortitude Valley on Wednesday.

The Moggill man was charged at the Brisbane Watch House on Wednesday night on one count of fraud and another of creating a false entry.

It's alleged he made 299 transactions from an account owned by Leighton Contractors into his own personal bank accounts, allegedly disguised under another business name, over a period of 12 years.

It's alleged as the company's finance manager, he was the only person who could sign off on the transactions, which had, until recently, gone undetected.

O'Carrigan fronted Brisbane Magistrates Court this morning on the charges.

Defence lawyer Peter Russo made an application for bail on his behalf.

Mr Russo indicated his client had been talking with police on the charges since late October.

The application was opposed by prosecutor Sgt Timothy Clare, who said police were concerned O'Carrigan would be a flight risk while facing such serious charges.

Magistrate John Costello is expected to hand down his decision on the bail application on Friday.

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Nauru hunger strike continues

MOST asylum seekers in Nauru's offshore processing centre are still eating regular meals, despite claims from a refugee advocate 300 detainees are on a hunger strike.

Ian Rintoul, of the Refugee Action Coalition, says about 300 of the 377 asylum seekers on Nauru are involved.

But the immigration department denies the claim, saying at least 200 meals had been claimed at eating times and a large volume of snacks had been given out to transferees.

"(This) does indicate that the number of people claimed by advocates to be abstaining from food is incorrect," an immigration department spokesman told AAP.

The spokesman said a group of detainees were engaged in a peaceful protest, indicating they would not eat. He said the number involved was fluctuating.

Over the weekend around 30 people were treated at the facility for dehydration and heat exhaustion, he said.

Mr Rintoul says some of the men have been on strike for seven days while one Iranian man had entered his 27th day on hunger strike and was "very skinny and very weak".

Meanwhile, the Salvation Army's Major Paul Moulds denied News Limited reports that staff were being forced to withdraw from Nauru's processing centre amid fears for their safety.

The report said charity staff had been ordered out of the camp and forced to wait inside an office building until the tensions eased.

"The Salvation Army has never indicated it would be withdrawing from Nauru or that it has concerns about the safety of its staff," Major Moulds said in a statement.

"We intentionally entered into this contract to support the asylum seekers on Nauru and Manus Island and our commitment to this task has strengthened, not lessened."

In other news, Australia's human rights commissioner Gillian Triggs told Fairfax the indefinite detention of would-be refugees on Nauru was "an egregious breach of international human rights law".

"Asylum seekers have a legal right under international law to have their claims assessed in a speedy and appropriate way, and this is at risk of being arbitrary detention," she said.

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Check NT homes are cyclone ready: BOM

PEOPLE in Australia's Top End should check their homes remain cyclone code compliant, with predictions two or three big storms will form in the region this season.

Mr Shepherd, from the Bureau of Meteorology in Darwin, said two or three cyclones would likely form in the northern region, which includes the Northern Territory and parts of Queensland and Western Australia.

That would make it an average season, with one or two of those cyclones likely to make land.

Mr Shepherd said people should check that homes built some time ago had not deteriorated over time and were no longer cyclone-code compliant.

"Because of rust in the metalwork or if roofing is damaged it is quite possible it is not up to code anymore," Mr Shepherd said on Wednesday.

After Darwin was devastated by Cyclone Tracy in 1974 tough building codes were introduced that should enable houses to withstand a Category 4 cyclone.

People in cyclone-prone areas should ensure they have a cyclone kit and a plan for what to do in case one of the tropical storms hits, Mr Shepherd said.

Those living in caravan parks, camping or who are homeless should know where the nearest public cyclone shelter is located, he said.

The cyclone season in northern Australia runs from November 1 until April 30, "It is a matter of being prepared," Mr Shepherd said.

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Chopper fights bushfire near houses

A WATER-BOMBING helicopter is rushing to help control a blaze close to properties south of Brisbane this afternoon.

Four crews are at the fire around

Brookside Street

at Doolandella, with a Department of Community Safety spokeswoman saying that crews were conducting a backburn in an attempt to control the fire.

Wind is pushing the fire towards properties around 1.5kms away.

An additional three crews are on route to the fire.

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Cop stood down over racist conduct claim

A 37-year-old police constable has been stood down from official duty yesterday after allegations of racially offensive conduct came to light.

The Metropolitan North Region officer has been accused of racially offensive conduct toward community members and seriously unprofessional conduct toward fellow officers.

Police said the allegations had not yet but substantiated.

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Minority govt woes wash over ACT

THE demonisation of minority government at a federal level could have played a part in the ACT election result, analysts say.

The eighth ACT Legislative Assembly will sit for the first time on Tuesday, with eight Labor members, eight Liberals and one Green.

Both major parties won more seats than they held in the previous assembly and each had a swing towards it in the primary votes - the Liberals winning an extra 7.3 per cent and Labor gaining 1.5 per cent.

By contrast, there was a backlash against the Greens, independent candidates and other minor parties including the Australian Motorist Party.

Australian National University political analyst John Warhurst said while there were several reasons for the swing towards the major parties, negative commentary about the hung federal parliament was a factor.

"The disenchantment with minority government may have played a part," Professor Warhurst told AAP.

"Of course, we've still got a minority government (in the ACT) so it didn't fix that."

The territory has only had one majority government in its 23-year history of self-government, the Jon Stanhope-led Labor team winning nine seats in 2004.

But that government was rebuffed in 2008, with voters reducing the ALP to seven of the 17 seats in the assembly.

"I think there was a feeling then that majority government was on the nose and people were looking for a balance of power situation again," Prof Warhurst said.

Until 2010, there hadn't been a minority government at a federal level since the ACT was given self-government.

The sole Greens representative in the new Assembly, Shane Rattenbury, said the ACT had a history of stable minority governments.

"Somewhat frustratingly I think that the perceptions about the instability of the federal parliament have washed over into the ACT," he told AAP.

Mr Rattenbury said the previous assembly makeup had been productive, with all three parties able to put legislation forward and have it supported through the parliament.

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Bonds higher ahead of RBA meeting

AUSTRALIAN bond prices are higher, as the market awaits a key rates decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), and the outcome of the US presidential election.

At 1630 AEDT on Monday, the December 10-year bond futures contract was trading at 96.920 (implying a yield of 3.080 per cent), up from 96.905 (3.095 per cent) on Friday.

The December three-year bond futures contract was at 97.420 (2.580 per cent), up from 97.410 (2.590 per cent).

Commonwealth Bank interest rate strategist Phillip Brown said a strong reading for US non-farm payrolls on Friday had failed to halt the rise upwards in global bond markets.

"The Americans had some really good employment data on Friday," he said.

"US bonds moved lower on that, but they weren't able to hold onto that move, because they were squaring up for this election on Tuesday."

Official data showed that 171,000 jobs were added to the US labour force in October, in the last reading before the election begins on Tuesday (US time).

Mr Brown said positive retail data also had little impact on the domestic bond market, which was waiting for a rate decision from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) on Tuesday.

"That feeling is just dominating the market everywhere," he said.

"We had some good retail sales numbers today, but there wasn't much movement in markets, because everyone's waiting for tomorrow."

Economists are expecting the central bank to cut the cash rate by a quarter of a percentage point, bringing it to three per cent, following a cut by the same amount at its October 2 meeting.

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Search stepped up for missing prospector

POLICE have stepped up the search for a gold prospector, who has been missing in the West Australian outback since Saturday.

The man was last seen by friends heading into bushland about 7km south of Menzies, about 130km north of Kalgoorlie, at about 3pm on Saturday.

He was reported missing to police later in the evening after he failed to return.

Leonora police conducted a search of the area last night, and were joined by police officers from Kalgoorlie who searched through the night with no success.

An aerial search on Sunday still had not located the man, so a command post has been set up and more WA police resources from Kalgoorlie were headed to the search site.

SES volunteers from Kalgoorlie and Perth area are also being drafted into the search.

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Man killed in Vic farming accident

A VICTORIAN farmer has died after the ute he was working in went over an embankment and into a quarry.

The 77-year-old Noorat man was thrown from the vehicle and died at the scene near Terang in Victoria's west.

Investigators believe the man had been working in the ute at about 1pm on Sunday when it slipped over the embankment and fell into a quarry that backs onto the property.

Police will prepare a report for the coroner.

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