Sydney Airport continues its march to a full recovery post-pandemic, surpassing an important milestone for international passenger numbers last month.
In its latest traffic performance review, Sydney Airport reported that 1.86 million passengers travelled through its T1 International terminal in March 2023 – marking the first time the airport has surpassed the 80 per cent recovery mark since the pandemic. More precisely, Australia’s busiest hub saw an 82.3 per cent recovery on March 2019 figures.
Meanwhile, domestic passenger traffic for March exceeded 2 million travellers (2.08 million), representing a nearly 90 per cent recovery (89.2%) on March 2019 numbers. However, tentative figures show passenger numbers are tracking back at around the mid-80 per cent mark for the first half of April.
In total, 3.17 million international and domestic travellers passed through SYD in March, representing an 86.7 per cent rise on the same period four years ago and the strongest post-COVID performance so far.
Notable arrivals
When it comes to foreign travellers, US passengers ranked second among the top ten nationalities passing through SYD, but American numbers are still “significantly lower” than pre-COVID levels, the airport reported.
However, UK visitor numbers continue to grow, with the recovery rate in March hitting a record 87.4 per cent.
Elsewhere, the arrival of Chinese nationals grew sharply last month, rising from a 24.7 per cent recovery rate in February to 39.6 per cent on March 2019 numbers.
Aiding this recovery is the return of Chinese carriers to Sydney Airport.
This morning, Beijing-based Capital Airlines returned to SYD, recommencing direct Sydney-Qingdao flights two times per week (Monday and Thursday).
The NSW hub now serves six airlines flying 28 times a week to China.
“With new airlines and routes coming online, momentum is starting to build, especially in our T1 International terminal,” Sydney Airport CEO Geoff Culbert said.
“For the first-time since the Australian border reopened to tourists, international passenger numbers have cracked the 80 percent recovery mark, with many airlines increasing capacity.
“With China now open for business, and the European and North American summer almost here, we anticipate our international traffic will continue to pick-up in the coming months.”
In a historic moment for Australia’s busiest airport, SYD welcomed its 50th airline with the arrival of Vietjet Air from Ho Chi Minh City on 13 April.
