iscover
Warning: Undefined array key "image-size-770" in /data/www/upgrade/australianaviation.com.au/httpdocs/wp-content/themes/australianaviation/functions.php on line 1310
Warning: Trying to access array offset on null in /data/www/upgrade/australianaviation.com.au/httpdocs/wp-content/themes/australianaviation/functions.php on line 1310
Australia’s two largest airports posted strong passenger growth in March as more international travellers pour into the country.
At Melbourne Tullamarine, international passengers were up 7.3 per cent in March at 763,848, compared with the prior corresponding period.
This content is available exclusively to Australian Aviation members.
A monthly membership is only $5.99 or save with our annual plans.
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
- Access to the Australian Aviation app
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
- Daily news updates via our email bulletin
- Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
- Access to the Australian Aviation app
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
- Daily news updates via our email bulletin
The March figures represented seven straight years of international passenger growth at Melbourne.
Melbourne Airport chief executive Lyell Strambi said the seven years of month-on-month growth represented a remarkable achievement.
“This continued and consistent growth shows great faith and confidence from our airline partners who continue to increase their services to Melbourne.,” Strambi said in a statement.
“Our third quarter results are also particularly pleasing, with growth achieved in all key international markets compared to the same period last year.”
The largest increases in international travellers to Melbourne were from Hong Kong (39.3 per cent), Singapore (37.1 per cent) and Japan (27 per cent). The start of Etihad’s second daily flight from Tullamarine to Abu Dhabi that kicked off in August 2015 has also boosted the number of European visitors to the Victorian capital, Melbourne Airport said.
Meanwhile, Sydney Airport handled 1.211 million international passengers in March, up 7.9 per cent from the prior corresponding period.
Sydney Airport chief executive Kerrie Mather noted the recent arrival of new airlines such as Japan’s ANA, Qatar Airways and China’s Xiamen, while existing operators have added additional services or upgauged current routes.
“This exceptional growth continues to be driven by seat capacity from new and existing airline customers,” Mather said in a statement.
“Growth in Japanese nationals was the largest international inbound contributor to passenger growth.”
There was also healthy growth for domestic travellers, with Sydney reporting a rise of 4.4 per cent and Melbourne Tullamarine posting a 3.3 per cent improvement.
By contrast, Perth Airport handled 1.1 per cent fewer domestic passengers in March, amid a slowdown in mining activity in Western Australia.
Geoff
says:Excellent management and marketing over the years is continuing to pay dividends, especially for Melbourne.
The end of year figures will no doubt show a greater percentage increase for Melbourne again than Sydney for International passengers as that gap gradually closes. More foreign carriers tending to stimulate the market at QF’s/Sydney’s expense.
Perth is still growing year on year internationally but more must be done there as the overall “growth’ is temporarily less healthy. Tourism is a new growth opportunity as our friends accross the Tasman are showing us.
Geoff
says:Adelaide has been very active over the past few years and International carriers continue to line up there. Excellent results.