Brisbane Airport (BNE) welcomed a whopping 14,500 passengers through its International Terminal on Saturday 7 January, signalling the continued travel rebound from an overseas arrivals cap of just 1,000 travellers in January 2022.
BNE reports that international capacity is now back to 63 per cent of pre-COVID numbers, while domestic travel is at 90 per cent. A full international travel recovery is not expected until 2025.
Across January, 1.7 million passengers will travel via the Domestic and International terminals, an increase of one million people on January 2022.
More than three million travellers will pass through BNE during the December and January holiday period.
Brisbane Airport Corporation CEO Gert-Jan de Graaff said: “This time last year, international arrivals were capped at 1,000 people per week so we’ve come a long way.”
“Within Queensland, our busiest routes have been from Brisbane to Cairns, Townsville, Mackay and Rockhampton.”
The largest number of overseas tourists has arrived from New Zealand, the UK and USA, while Queenslanders have been travelling overseas to New Zealand, Bali and the UK.
Jetstar will offer four weekly direct flights between Brisbane and Auckland for the first time from 27 March to coincide with the Easter school holidays.
“Each time a new flight is added to the schedule our passenger numbers slowly grow,” Mr de Graaff said.
“We’re looking forward to Jetstar beginning flights from Brisbane to Auckland from March 27, which will be the first time there’s been a low-cost carrier servicing this very important route for Queensland.”
To find out more, visit bne.com.au
