Air traffic has ground to a halt at Perth Airport after severe storms caused a power outage on Tuesday evening.
Perth Airport announced the news at around 5.15pm, warning that a power cut would cause delays for the next two hours.
The airport warned of long delays and apologized to passengers, some of whom are understood to be stranded at other airports because they cannot land in Perth.
He said the decision was taken on the basis of advice from the Western power.
“Perth Airport has taken the decision to delay all departing services currently scheduled to depart before 7.30pm,” the statement said.
“All inbound flights en route will be able to arrive safely. All flights scheduled to Perth that have not yet departed will be delayed until further notice.”
Travelers were warned to expect flight delays or even cancellations.
Camera Icon A power outage has delayed flights at Perth Airport. Credit: Lincoln Baker/The West Australian
“The safety of everyone who works or travels to our airport remains our highest priority,” the airport said.
“We apologize to our passengers and customers for the inconvenience.”
Western Power crews are working on site to repair the damage.
Western Power says emergency crews are working hard in difficult conditions to restore power to Perth.
“Damaging and destructive winds associated with the front have thrown debris, including tree limbs, onto the grid, damaging equipment and downing power lines,” a spokesman said.
“Our priority during the storm is to respond to reported hazards to ensure the safety of the community and our crews.
“Our network operations team is working to isolate damaged parts of the network and feed back where possible to restore power where it is safe to do so.”
It comes as Perth braces for more damaging winds to lash the state after thousands were left without power and property damaged overnight.
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for the Goldfields, Eucla, Lower West, South West, South Coast, South East Coast, Great Southern, Central Wheat Belt and parts of the Gascoyne, South Interior and Central West districts.
A high wind warning is also in place for Melville Waters and the Gascoyne Coast.
These winds are expected to continue into the early hours of Wednesday and the Bureau has warned that gusty winds could cause damage to homes and property, particularly on the coast and inland nearby, becoming more isolated inland interior