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Both Adelaide and Launceston Airports have exceeded pre-COVID-19 passenger capacities in the 2023–24 financial year.
The news comes as three of Australia’s four major gateways – Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane – remain below pre-pandemic levels, while Perth has exceeded them on the back of strong regional passenger figures.
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Adelaide saw 7.6 million domestic and around 960,000 international passengers in the 2024 financial year, the airport said in a press release.
“Adelaide Airport celebrated more than 8.5 million passengers travelling through the terminal, 10 per cent above the prior 2023 financial year and more than ten thousand passengers higher than FY19 pre-COVID,” it said.
“Traffic growth over the year was underpinned by both ongoing strong demand for travel and nearly nine per cent increases in airline capacity.”
Launceston, meanwhile, saw its busiest 12-month period on record with more than 1.4 million passengers, up 10 per cent on the same time in 2023.
Shane O’Hare, CEO of Launceston Airport, said the figures are “incredibly positive” for both the airport and Tasmania, particularly in the current climate.
“We know Tasmanians want direct access to our mainland capital cities and since the pandemic, we’ve doubled direct services out of the airport to deliver better access for our passengers and local exporters,” he said.
“Our recovery as an airport was one of the quickest around the nation, and in the past 12 months, we’ve set seven new monthly passenger records.
“I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved in the last 12 months, not only have we set new records but at the same time we’ve completed the biggest infrastructure project at the airport in more than a decade with the opening of our new Check-in Hall and Security screening point.”
Adelaide and Launceston have joined Gold Coast Airport in breaking through 2019 passenger levels, while major airports Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane continue to hover at between 90 and 95 per cent of pre-pandemic capacity.
Perth is the only one of the “big four” airports to have outdone its pre-pandemic traffic, recording its biggest year ever in 2023–24.
