Parts of Sydney were beset by major flooding and as much as 90 millimetres of rain in the 24 hours leading up to Monday morning, while Sydney Airport saw 18mm and wind gusts of up to 72km per hour.

As a result, queues at Sydney Airport were described by travellers as "heaving" and a "shambles" on Twitter.

"COVID-related staff shortages" were also to blame for the long delays, according to Sydney Airport's official Twitter account.

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"We're working hard to rebuild our workforce in a really tight jobs market," an airport spokesperson said.

A number of Regional Express (Rex) flights were disrupted across the Riverina, with the first Sydney to Wagga flight departing at 6.40am delayed until lunchtime.

Other flights departing the region, including from Albury and Wagga, were observed on FlightRadar24 in a holding pattern as they awaited clearance to land at Sydney Airport.

A Rex spokesperson said the delays were due to "operationally related" issues "emanating from Sydney" that were caused by aircraft availability. The decreased rate of aircraft movements at Sydney Airport due to the weather also contributed to delays.

Alan Wheatley, who travelled to Wagga from Sydney, was delayed by 30 minutes and described the scenes at Sydney Airport as a "shemozzle".

"We were told it was delayed, it wasn't so much Rex's problem. What affected me was the way they shuffled people through the terminal, it seemed a bit odd," he said.

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