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Perth Airport has hit another post-COVID milestone, with international passenger numbers exceeding pre-pandemic levels for the first time.
Two years on from the reopening of borders, 350,387 international passengers travelled through Perth Airport in February 2024. This was an increase of 12 per cent on February of 2020, a month before COVID travel restrictions took effect, and up eight per cent on February 2019.
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“Following the dramatic impact that the pandemic had on aviation, it’s fantastic to see that we have fully recovered and are now experiencing growth in international aviation,” said Perth Airport’s chief commercial and aviation officer, Kate Holsgrove.
“We’ve worked closely with the State Government over the past two years to attract airlines to Western Australia and this milestone highlights the importance of the ‘Team Perth’ approach to aviation development.
“The recovery shows that international airlines have full confidence in the Western Australian market.
“And with our research showing that one daily international direct flight has the potential to deliver an additional $70 million to the State’s economy and create more than 600 new jobs, it’s why we get so excited when our airline partners commit more capacity and routes into the Perth market.”
Over the past month, Perth has seen a further expansion of its international capacity, including an AirAsia Malaysia route to Kuala Lumpur, a fourth daily Singapore Airlines flight to Changi, and the return of Thai Airways’ Bangkok service.
According to Holsgrove, growing international aviation is a “massive coup” for the state’s tourism industry and increases competition for passengers.
“International visitors inject $2.2 billion into the WA economy on visitor spend alone – which helps our hotels, attractions and tour operators around the State,” she said.
“Perth Airport is committed to continuing to grow and enhance our capacity so that our airline partners can also grow. Further investments to achieve this include expanding the international terminal, new domestic terminal facilities, a new runway, and multistorey car parks.
“These initiatives have all been a part of Perth Airport’s Master Plan to consolidate operations into the Airport Central precinct.”
Perth Airport in January became the first of Australia’s major gateways to surpass total pre-COVID passenger figures thanks to surging regional and FIFO travel.
