Major delays at Australian airports were due to passport system outage

International travellers have faced major delays at Australian airports due to a nationwide passport system outage.

Travellers have reported significant queues to get through customs in Sydney due to an issue with Australian Border Force systems, on a frantic day at the nation's busiest airport, with a grassfire erupting after a Qantas engine failure this afternoon.

There were also reports of delays in Melbourne.

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"There are currently delays at immigration due to a national outage affecting Australian Border Force processing systems," a Sydney Airport spokesperson told 9news.com.au shortly after 11am.

"Passengers are being processed manually and while inbound and outbound queues are longer than usual, no flights have been impacted.

"Passengers travelling today are encouraged to check with their airline regarding the status of their flight, and leave plenty of time when travelling to the T1 International Terminal.

"We apologise for the disruption and appreciate everyone's patience as the issue is being resolved."

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In a statement, the Australian Border Force said the outage was impacting automatic passport gates nationwide.

It said the issue was being fixed.

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"Additional ABF officers are being surged into work areas to manually process passengers and provide as minimal disruption as possible," a spokesperson said.

"The issue is currently being rectified and systems are slowly returning online.

"We appreciate travellers' patience as we continue to work through the issue."

While travellers are facing long queues in getting through border control, the impact on flights appears limited, with departure boards showing few delays at Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.