Delays and Diversions Galore on Wednesday as Wet Weather Hits Central Queensland Airports

Yet more inclement weather has hit parts of Central Queensland causing several delays and diversions during the course of Wednesday 26 March.  Coastal parts were hit the worst, with heavy rainfall - unofficial reports in some parts of over 100mm falling during day - reducing visibility and causing wind shear alerts.

At Mackay Airport, the morning Jetstar Airways JST882 flight from Brisbane spent some time holding around Mackay before eventually returning to Brisbane.  VH-VQB was the operating aircraft, while the flight was eventually cancelled altogether.

Gladstone and Rockhampton Airports experienced patches of heavy rain which significantly reduced visibility, causing some aircraft problems with landing and seeing several missed approaches.  The Gladstone Airport's recently installed Instrument Landing System (ILS) on Runway 10 was reportedly receiving a work-out with most arrivals notifying that they were performing the ILS approach.

The ILS wasn't able to assist Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) Raytheon B200 King Air VH-FDW, with "FlyDoc 447" unable to land at Gladstone after the short hop from Rockhampton.  VH-FDW eventually returned to Rocky after just under an hour in the air.

Finally, the weather in the Whitsundays wasn't much better, with Jetstar Airways A320 VH-VQP diverting to Cairns, after unsuccessfully trying to land at Hamilton Island Airport after flying up from Sydney as JST842.  VH-VQP was captured in Cairns by the our friends at the FNQ Skies Blog.

VH-VQP eventually departed Cairns for Hamo, and as evening fell, it returned to Sydney as JST843, albeit significantly behind schedule.

An early look at the forecast and weather radar this morning indicates that conditions may be starting to improve!