On the back of Turkish Airlines’ first foray into the Australian market, Melbourne Airport achieved its biggest-ever March for international passenger traffic.
Approaching the one million flyer mark, the Victorian hub welcomed 923,065 international travellers during the month. This surpassed the previous March record of 916,846 passengers set in 2018.
Last month, Melbourne Airport saw 3,016,947 people pass through its doors, making it the fourth time in the six months that the hub has seen over three million passengers.
But while year-on-year international traffic grew by 28 per cent, domestic capacity rose by just five per cent. The airport puts this down, at least in part, to softer demand caused by higher airfares and capacity restraints.
Melbourne Airport CEO Lorie Argus said that more competition and more flights have helped lower airfares and enable more people to travel.
“It’s clear from our international figures that Victorians want to travel, and they’re prepared to do so in record numbers,” she stated.
But Argus added that “it’s unlikely we’ll see a full recovery in the local market in the near future” thanks to “reduced capacity and subsequent higher airfares” in the domestic sector.
“It’s important to acknowledge that airlines are grappling with a number of factors outside of their control, but it’s also worth noting that while domestic airfares went up over the Grand Prix weekend and Easter, the one thing that didn’t increase over those periods was the airport charge the airlines pay,” she remarked.
“To help improve operational reliability and cater for future growth, we have submitted plans [in February 2023] for a parallel north-south runway, which will drive choice and enable greater efficiency for tourism, trade and business.
“We are also working with the airlines to explore ways of increasing our terminal capacity in a timely and cost-effective way.”
Nearly 50% growth
For the financial year to date, Melbourne’s international passenger figures have grown year-on-year by 42 per cent – from 5,934,912 in 2022/23 to 8,399,738 in 2023/24.
YTD FY domestic travel rose by 9 per cent from 16,855,669 (22/23) to 18,330,449 (23/24).
Total passenger numbers increased by 17 per cent from 22,790,581 (22/23) to 26,730,187 (23/24).
Turkish Airlines, the carrier that flies to more countries than any other airline, commenced its Aussie operation in early March. And it’s confident Australians will take up the direct flights (via Singapore) – thanks in part to Melbourne’s large Turkish population.
Meanwhile, other international airlines, such as Vietjet, are also boosting their Melbourne flights.
