Speaking to a Brisbane Airport employee yesterday, there were a couple of problems disembarking the pax. One was terminal capacity. However another, unusually, was that pax didn't want to leave their Duty-free grog, perfume, face cream or other expensive liquid or gel onboard but if they took it into the terminal it would be confiscated at security!
After sometime a clever little F/A suggested they all label their stuff, leave it onboard and de-plane when allowed. (The Cabin crew were apparently still onboard then).
I paxed up from Sydney on the same flight as the UA Tech-crew (and 2 Ops people to manage the show) that flew the first aircraft down to Sydney. I believe they then paxed back to Brissy and flew the other jet down to Sydney later in the day.
It was confirmed that the crew that operated into Brissy from the States were not prepared to continue on to Sydney as a mark of appropriate respect for their management!
