Sydney Airport up on Q3 2023, though still behind pre-COVID figures

Sydney Australia May 19, 2014 passenger aircraft Boeing 747-400 in Qantas colour scheme getting towed to the Qantas Maintenance hangar at Sydney Kingsford Smith airport with the city  Skyline in the background, also visible some cargo Commercial Airplanes
Edited by Travel Weekly


Sydney Airport has revealed its Q3 2024 performance figures, noting 10.3 million passengers passing through its terminals, though still not yet entirely matching pre-pandemic figures from the same period in 2019.

The numbers are a 3.3 per cent increase on last year’s traffic, but only a 92.5 percent recovery compared to pre-pandemic Q3 2019 levels.

The T1 international terminal saw a 5.8 per cent increase in traffic over last year, totalling 4 million passengers, which represents a 95.7 per cent recovery rate from 2019. Meanwhile, domestic travel rose by 1.8 per cent, with 6.3 million travellers moving through T2 and T3, a 90.5 per cent recovery compared to pre-COVID figures.

Operational efficiency was a highlight, with 100 per cent of passengers clearing security in under 10 minutes and no kerbside drop-off delays at the domestic terminal beyond 10 minutes. Sydney Airport’s partnership with Australian Border Force (ABF) is set to enhance this performance further, as additional E-Gate kiosks are introduced to streamline border processing.

CEO Scott Charlton praised traffic growth from countries like India, the Philippines, and South Korea, the latter now surpassing the United Kingdom as Sydney’s fifth-largest passenger group.

 

“Despite the headwinds we’re seeing in terms of supply chains affecting airline capacity, we’re pleased with how we are tracking on international passenger traffic,” he said.

“We’ve seen a significant increase in airline seat capacity that’s translating into passenger numbers from countries like India, the Philippines and South Korea increasing relative to 2019 levels. In the case of South Korea, this nationality has increased by 54 per cent compared to 2019 and in Q3 moved above the United Kingdom to become our 5th largest passenger group.

“We remain optimistic on the outlook for Chinese passengers as tour groups return, and with new mainland China carriers like Juneyao Air joining before the end of the year, and existing carriers boosting capacity, we expect to finish the year very close to pre-COVID levels of Chinese passengers.

“We remain optimistic on the outlook for Chinese passengers as tour groups return, and with new mainland China carriers like Juneyao Air joining before the end of the year, and existing carriers boosting capacity, we expect to finish the year very close to pre-COVID levels of Chinese passengers.”

Domestically, the airport has faced a shift in business travel patterns, yet continues to exceed operational benchmarks for efficiency. Upcoming initiatives, such as live kerbside wait-time displays, are part of Sydney Airport’s commitment to transparency and enhancing passenger planning.

New group executive to start next month 

In November, Sydney Airport will welcome Paul Willis as group executive of planning and delivery. Willis, with a strong background in aviation from his time with Manchester Airport Group, is expected to play a key role in Sydney Airport’s extensive five-year capital program.

“Given the size and complexity of our capital program over the next five years, it’s important that we have someone with deep experience in the airport infrastructure space, Charlton said.

“Paul brings significant experience in designing and delivering complex aviation capital programs and we are looking forward to welcoming him in November.”

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