The knock-on effect of Saturday's Qantas shutdown would be felt around the country as people found themselves unable to secure flights, according to disgruntled passengers at Canberra Airport yesterday.
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Susan Evans, a gynaecological surgeon from Adelaide, was left stranded at the airport with little prospect of returning home until tomorrow.
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Dr Evans has been forced to cancel all her scheduled operations for today and tomorrow, leaving half-a-dozen patients in the lurch.
''A lot of [my patients] will have taken time off work and they will have planned their lives and such things as child care. They are not going to be thrilled when they get the call from my secretary saying, 'sorry,''' Dr Evans said.
She said she had no recourse for compensation to make up the lost days, but was pragmatic about the experience. ''I can see it from both sides. I have sympathies in both areas ... I consider myself to be collateral damage, but I can understand why [Qantas management] are doing it. Life goes on,'' she said.
Sam Poggioli, who goes by the stage-name DJ Sampology, also found himself stranded after playing the University of Canberra's Stonefest.
Poggioli missed an important gig in Melbourne on Saturday night and was left twiddling his thumbs in a Canberra hotel with his tour manager, Matthew Smith.
Poggioli and Mr Smith were sitting on a plane bound for Melbourne on Saturday night when the pilot suddenly made an announcement cancelling the flight.
''The captain sounded like he didn't know what was going on and then they just asked us to get off the plane,'' Mr Poggioli said.
Mr Smith said the pilot sounded upset. ''He said it was a disgrace. All the staff and the pilot had the same disappointed look on their faces.''
''This is the first flight we've been able to get and we're heading straight home to Brisbane ... It's all been very frustrating and disappointing,'' Mr Poggioli said. Much of the disappoint stemmed from missing an important Melbourne event.
''It really, really sucks - it was a special Halloween party. I've rescheduled the gig, it's put me out of pocket and I've missed a fantastic night,'' he said.
