Australian News / 24 July 2024
Going nowhere fast
![airport taxi. passenger with big roller luggage standing on the line waiting for taxi queue at taxi parking lot at airport arrival terminal airport taxi. passenger with big roller luggage standing on the line waiting for taxi queue at taxi parking lot at airport arrival terminal](http://www.thesquiz.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/iStock-974719262-1024x576.jpg)
Aussie airports are still struggling to rebound after COVID, with Perth being the only big gateway with more travellers than pre-2020. In the year to 30 June, 16 million passengers passed through Perth Airport, overtaking the previous record of 14.9 million set in 2014, according to a new report (paywall). While Sydney Airport was the nation’s busiest with more than 40 million flyers in the last financial year, that’s still down from 44 million 5 years ago. Melbourne and Brisbane are also hovering at around 95% of pre-pandemic levels. Sydney Airport CEO Scott Charlton says that’s down to “higher airfares, a lack of capacity and a downturn in discretionary business travel”. Cue Virgin’s announcement that it’s cutting the daily Tokyo-Cairns flight. A not-so-fun fact for our tourism operators: Japanese visitors to Australia are down 35% on pre-COVID levels.
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