We are finally almost back to having passenger traffic in aviation near to what is used to be prior to 2020. This is also the case with Australia. The country is heavily reliant on air travel due to its sheer size and distances and its geographic location. Sitting isolated from any other land in the Indo-Pacific region. Among the airports that have been working hard to get back to where they were before covid hit, is Brisbane international. As FY24 has been wrapped up, we now have some figures to look at and comment on. So, let’s get into it.
Brisbane Airport Back to 95% of 2019 Passenger Traffic
So, let’s kick things off with the great news. That is that Brisbane international airport is close, extremely close, to getting back to pre-pandemic passenger traffic levels. At the end of FY24 Queensland’s largest and busiest airport was at 95% passenger traffic of 2019. That is extremely close and is a huge win for the airport.
Figures look even more impressive when considering the % of growth over the prior year of 2023. FY24 over FY23 saw domestic traffic increase by 5.7%, which a positive figure, bringing traffic above the 17 million passenger mark.
International traffic, albeit having lower absolute passenger numbers, had an even better performance throughout the year. A staggering 39% increase over the prior year was achieved, bringing the overall figure to 5.6 million passengers.
These numbers tell us that although Brisbane is still an airport with a primary focus on domestic flights, it’s working hard to attract new international services. We’ll cover more on that in the next segment after the chart.
| Passengers FY24 | Change vs FY23 | Restoration v FY19 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic | 17 million | +5.7% | 97% |
| International | 5.6 million | +39.4% | 89% |
| Total | 22.6 million | +12.5% | 95% |
The Cost of These Numbers and Possible Future Hurdles
So, what is the downside of these figures? Is there one that might hinder the airport on the long run? Well, there might be. Much of the international capacity that has been generated over the past twelve months hasn’t been organic or spontaneous.
Queensland state government has been investing heavily to attract new airlines and convince them to start serving the region. Through the “Attracting Aviation Investment Fund” Queensland is subsidising airlines to operate flights from and to the state. That is great to get airlines in swarms to fly to Brisbane and other airports, however, on the long run it might be an issue.
Many carriers might start routes attracted by the subsidies that make flying services to Queensland profitable. However, subsidies, in most cases, can’t last forever. It is all to be seen if the routes that started with the subsidies will remain when the cash flow eventually runs dry. Will routes still be economically viable? Only time will tell.