Sports

Australian Open attendees left waiting thanks to virtual queue tech fault

Australian Open attendees were left waiting yesterday (Sunday) after virtual queue technology failed on the opening day. 

A virtual queue had been introduced to help speed up entry into John Cain Arena throughout the first tennis grand slam of the year.

The ‘Arena Pass’ was introduced for this year’s tournament, allowing those without a reserved ticket for the venue to enter into a virtual queue instead of physically waiting in line for a seat to become available. Fans could scan a QR code and wait for an alert to come through on their mobile device informing them of a free seat.

However, the Herald Sun reported that the technology suffered a fault relating to the QR code which led to long lines outside of John Cain Arena.

The Australian Open is held at Melbourne Park, which features three covered venues and a host of outdoor courts. Rod Laver Arena has a capacity of 15,000, while John Cain Arena seats 10,500 and Margaret Court Arena can accommodate 7,500.

Rain interrupted the opening day of the main draw, with play scheduled for the outside courts halted. This resulted in many fans attempting to snap up seats inside the three covered arenas.

Staff members were forced to admit fans manually, before the technology provider resolved the issue.

This year’s Australian Open also saw Ticketmaster introduce its new, enhanced Apple Wallet ticket technology.

Ticketmaster was the first to enable the enhanced experience in Apple Wallet in the US last year, but has now begun the process of expanding this internationally.

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