AUSTRALIA. Sydney Airport served 3.25 million passengers in August, reaching 88.6% of 2019 pre-pandemic levels.
This is the second consecutive month in which the airport recorded a higher recovery rate in the volume of international passengers than that of domestic.
International passenger volume stood at 1.23 million last month, 89.7% of the figure posted in August 2019.
Domestic passengers in August reached 2.02 million, representing a recovery rate of 88.0%.
For the first time since international borders reopened, US visitor volumes at Sydney Airport have surpassed pre-pandemic levels, slightly up by +1% on August 2019 numbers.
South Korea and Vietnam were also among the key source markets for the airport last month.
Passenger volume from South Korea increased by +44% on August 2019 levels, with the Seoul-Sydney route boosting tourism between the two countries.
Traffic to and from Vietnam was up +29% compared to August 2019, with four airlines operating flights from Sydney and Vietnam, two more than pre-pandemic.
Sydney Airport CEO Geoff Culbert said: “Recent boosts to capacity from some of our international airlines have led to a surge in overseas visitors, especially from countries like South Korea, the Philippines and Vietnam, where the numbers are now higher than in 2019.
“The Vietnamese market perfectly illustrates how strong competition and increasing capacity leads to greater demand. Leading up to the pandemic, Vietnam was our fastest-growing market with two carriers offering direct flights.
“This growth has accelerated with newcomers Vietjet and Bamboo Airways also operating services between Sydney Airport and Ho Chi Minh City.
“We now have four airlines offering more than 5,000 seats a week to Vietnam and this increase in capacity has boosted tourism for both countries. In August, the number of Vietnamese passport holders flying through Sydney Airport was +29% higher than before the pandemic, which is a terrific result.
“The domestic recovery continues to underwhelm, with the August result -12% below 2019.” ✈
