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Australia’s aviation industry stands on the brink of finally surpassing pre-COVID-19 passenger flight numbers after recording its best day in five years last month.
On 17 April, during the recent Easter holidays, there were 2,717 flights across Australia, the best figures since 2020.
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However, that number was just a fraction short of the pre-pandemic peak of 2,763 flights recorded on 26 September 2019.
The figures, released as part of Airservices’ monthly Aviation Network Overview, come as the sector continues to be affected by cost-of-living issues and a decrease in business travel blamed on the rise of video calling.
The report also reveals the industry as a whole has achieved two consecutive months of the highest on-time performance in three years, despite disruptions from ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
“This progress underscores the collective focus on key network performance factors, including weather disruption management, engineering and operational spares, staffing and aircraft availability,” Airservices said.
“Compliance with Ground Delay Programs (GDP) has reached the highest levels across all airports in recent months, enhancing network predictability.
“Our service performance continues to improve, with no airspace service variations over the Easter and Anzac Day holiday period. This is the result of embedding layers of resilience measures to protect peak travel demand periods.”
Australian Aviation previously reported how Easter was set to be one of the busiest periods post-pandemic, with Virgin Australia alone operating 400,000 seats over the long weekend, and Sydney Airport, Australia’s largest, forecasting 2.5 million passengers during the larger school holiday period.
In March, Brisbane Airport became the first of Australia’s big three airports to surpass pre-pandemic levels.
In January, domestic travel was at 104 per cent compared to the same month in 2019, while international travel hit 109 per cent or 632,000 people.
Gert-Jan de Graaff, chief executive of Brisbane Airport, hailed the figures as a “line in the sand moment”.
“We are proud to have achieved this milestone, which has come about through a lot of hard work, close collaboration and strong partnerships,” he said.
“While we acknowledge this is a milestone worth celebrating, this will be the last time we ever talk publicly about 2019 numbers.
“We’re future-focused, looking at what more we can do to continually improve the global connectivity for the people of Queensland while at the same time investing in and improving the lifestyle of South East Queensland.”
