Jumping into January with a recovery record
Brisbane Airport enjoyed a post-pandemic record on Saturday, with 14,500 people passing through the International Terminal as Queensland continues to enjoy a visitor surge.
“If you think back to this time last year, international arrivals were capped at 1,000 people per week so we’ve come a long way,” recalls Brisbane Airport Corporation CEO, Gert-Jan de Graaff.
“When Brisbane Airport is busy, Queensland is busy. And that’s particularly great news for Queenslanders working in the tourism industry from Cairns to Coolangatta.”
International capacity at BNE is now back to 63% of pre-Covid numbers, while domestic travel is at 90%.
Across January, 1.7 million passengers will pass through the Domestic and International terminals, an increase of one million on last January.
Despite the solid numbers, it’s been smooth travelling for passengers these holidays at BNE.
“Brisbane Airport has been humming all holiday period. The industry has come a long way since borders reopened last year, so to see more than three million people pass smoothly through Brisbane Airport across December and January is a great sign for Queensland’s economy.
Our advice remains for travellers to arrive 90 minutes before a domestic flight and 3 hours before an international service. Having time up your sleeve so you arrive comfortably at the gate ready for your flight means you get away smoothly.”
Analysing the data, the largest number of overseas tourists has come from New Zealand, the UK and USA.
“International tourists arriving via Brisbane Airport are spoilt for choice as they can connect to 53 domestic locations, which is more than any other Australian airport offers. Within Queensland, our busiest routes have been from Brisbane to Cairns, Townsville, Mackay and Rockhampton.”
Queenslanders travelling overseas have been heading to New Zealand, Bali and the UK.
Full recovery in the International Terminal is expected to take until 2025.
“Each time a new flight is added to the schedule our passenger numbers slowly grow. We’re looking forward to Jetstar beginning flights from Brisbane to Auckland from March 27, which will be the first time there’s been a low-cost carrier servicing this very important route for Queensland.”
January by the numbers – Domestic and International Passenger Numbers
2023: 1.7 million (forecast)
2022: 741,860
2021: 586,787
2020: 2,121,383
2019: 2,028,763