AUSTRALIA. Sydney Airport’s passenger numbers rose +14.4% year-on-year in the first quarter to 10.3 million, reaching 93.7% of 2019 pre-pandemic levels.
Sydney Airport’s T1 international terminal served 4.16 million passengers in Q1, a year-on-year increase of +25.1% increase and a 96.6% recovery rate on Q1 2019.
Passenger traffic at T2 and T3 domestic terminals stood at 6.16 million in Q1, up by +8.2% compared to the same period in 2023 and reaching 91.9% of the numbers recorded in 2019.
The number of Australian passport holders travelling through the airport increased by +3.1% compared to Q1 of 2019. Passenger volume from key source markets New Zealand, South Korea, India and the Philippines exceeded 2019 levels.
Improving transparency on operational performance
Sydney Airport noted its strong operational performance in Q1, delivering a positive experience for travellers at the airport.
To increase the airport’s level of transparency and enhance passenger experience, the airport company introduced a live feed of security wait times on its website with data updated every 60 seconds. The system allows passengers to check the website ahead of travel and understand the progress of security wait times within each terminal.
Throughout the period, the security wait times for 100% of domestic passengers and 99.9% of international passengers took less than ten minutes, Syndey Airport said. Minimising security processing is key to maximising airside commercial revenues.
Sydney Airport CEO Scott Charlton said: “It took us 100 years to reach our first billion passengers, from 1919 to 2019. We’re forecast to hit 2 billion within the next 20 years, and we’ll get there by working closely with our airline partners, improving our operational performance and unlocking capacity through targeted investments.”
He added: “The Q1 passenger data shows us that on the domestic front, higher airfares, lack of capacity and a downturn in discretionary business travel has affected demand. This is contrasted with relatively higher seat capacity and competition on major international routes which underpinned strong international passenger volumes for the quarter.
“In terms of our operational performance, we’re focused on efficiency and delivering a seamless experience for all stakeholders, on-airport partners, and most importantly, passengers.
“We had a really strong Easter peak with passengers through security in under ten minutes and we’re pleased to now showcase security wait times on our website for the first time as we understand getting through security quickly and seamlessly is important for passengers.
“Performance levels through Q1 were strong across security throughput, on time departures and traffic flowed well in and out of the precinct.
“We’re going to continue to be more transparent of our operational metrics as we move through the year, as well as working with airlines to deliver extra seat capacity and secure new services as we grow the airport’s capacity.” ✈
