“[It’s] incredible ... you’ve never seen crowds like it.”

After the morning rush,passengers were moving through check-in and security quickly,and many heeded the advice to arrive early.

Richard Blackmore heard about the delays on the radio so headed to Tullamarine at 2pm with his family to make sure they would be on time for their 4.15pm flight to Byron Bay.

“The lines were super-fast,not a problem at all,” he said.

Beers in hand,Jimmy Kyle and Chris O’Neill,members of punk band Chasing Ghosts,also arrived at Melbourne Airport early for their flight to Brisbane. They had seen the news of long lines and didn’t want to risk being late for their gig at The Zoo in Fortitude Valley on Friday night.

“We’re opening for the band Bodyjar,” Kyle said. “We’ve got a busy few days ahead of us. Brisbane tonight,Sydney Saturday night and then back to Melbourne for a gig at The Corner.”

Friends Bridget Biglan and Libby Nelson arrived at the airport only to learn their flight to Adelaide had been cancelled because of staff shortages.

Excited about their 10-day trip to South Australia,the women left their Gippsland homes at 7.30am for a 1pm flight after hearing about the delays.

“It would’ve been nice if[Virgin] had let us know personally rather than hearing it on the radio,” Nelson said.

The pair,who have to wait eight hours until their next flight at 9.30pm,said they felt as if they were in the Tom Hanks filmThe Terminal.

“We’re supposed to be in Adelaide right now in our hotel,” Biglan said.

The Transport Workers’ Union,which represents ground crew and other airport staff,said the industry was still struggling with a skills shortage after 12,500 employees were fired following the start of the pandemic.

“Little action has been taken since Easter to address the serious skills shortages we’ve seen in aviation caused by low wages,poor working conditions and collapsing safety standards,” TWU national secretary Michael Kaine said.

“The workers that remain in the industry are under enormous pressure from airports and airlines to plug gaps and keep the gears moving.”

The Queens Birthday long weekend is expected to be 20 per cent busier than the same weekend in 2019 for Virgin Australia,which has 1800 flights scheduled between Friday and Monday.

“We appreciate the patience of all travellers” a Virgin spokeswoman said.

Melbourne was the busiest destination on Virgin’s network across the four days,with its top routes being Melbourne-Sydney,Brisbane-Sydney and Melbourne-Gold Coast.

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