Much of Launceston Airport has been left without power as wild weather lashes Tasmania, with parts of the terminal and surrounding areas impacted.
The airport remains open and operational despite the blackout, but retail stores, car rental services and hand-washing facilities are among the affected areas.
“Our team is hard at work to get all facilities back up and running as soon as possible,” the airport said in a social media update.
“Check-in, security screening, flights and baggage services are all operational while we are still experiencing both a power and communications outage.”
The airport is currently in the middle of two major outages affecting hundreds of customers, a fraction of the 33,379 without power across 218 outages.
Several aircraft have been delayed and some diverted back to Melbourne, including a Virgin Australia flight overnight.
The aircraft was forced to turn around after gusts of around 100km/h were recorded.
“We truly regret the inconvenience to travellers that non-essential services such as coffee, food and retail are still unable to operate until regular power is restored and we have no updated time frame at this stage,” the airport said.
Devonport Airport is reportedly operating as scheduled, while Hobart Airport is experiencing some delays.
