The airport’s international passenger numbers have reached 109% of pre- pandemic figures, while domestic passenger numbers are at 104% for the same months. According to research by Australian Aviation, Brisbane appears to be ahead of Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport and Melbourne Airport in terms of domestic performance, making it the first to reach pre-pandemic domestic numbers. Speaking about the recovery, Brisbane Airport CEO Gert-Jan de Graaff said:
“While we acknowledge this is a milestone worth celebrating, this will be the last time we ever talk publicly about 2019 numbers. This is a line-in-the- sand moment, and from now on we will only quote year-on-year 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. ”
The growth in international traffic has been driven by several new routes and increased capacity on existing routes. Last October, American Airlines launched seasonal nonstop flights from Dallas-Fort Worth to Brisbane as part of a joint venture with Qantas. Operated with the Boeing 787, the route started with five weekly flights and increased to daily from December to March.
In December, Delta also began seasonal flights to Brisbane with a thrice- weekly service from Los Angeles on the Airbus A350-900. Jetstar added flights to Bangkok while Qantas started new routes to Manila and Palau. Meanwhile, United Airlines., China Eastern Airlines., Singapore Airlines., Cathay Pacific., and Qantas added capacity to existing routes.
Peak summer travel
Graaff highlighted that figures recorded in December and January reflect growin demand from Queenslanders who want to travel as well as international travelers visiting Brisbane. During peak summer period (December13 ,2024 - January27 ,2025),3 .1 million people passed through Brisbane Airport.
The busiest day for domestic travel was December13 with54 ,877 passengers while busiest for international travel was December22 with24 ,164 passengers.According top airport,the five international destinations for January2025 were Auckland,Singapore,Dubai,Bali,and Tokyo.Data from Cirium an aviation analytics company shows:
Top international destinations (January 2025) - weekly |
Auckland: Flights -48 Seats-11 ,566 |
Singapore: Flights -34 Seats-9 ,966 |
Denpasar: Flights -25 Seats-5 ,859 |
Dubai: Flights -14 Seats-7 ,045 |
Tokyo-Narita :Flights -14 Seats-2 ,450 |
Cirium shows that Sydney was top destination overall with up-to240 weekly flights followed by Melbourne with223,Cairns with88.Virgin Australia Alliance Airlines Qantas Jetstar Sunstate Airlines are airlines operating most flights out off Brisbane.
Expanding Brisbane Airport
With demand expected continue increasing Brisbane airport looking expand retail logistics infrastructure over next ten years.The airport receive A$5 billion investment deliver exceptional passenger experience next decade most transformational history Image:
Photo:
Brisbane Airport Corporation