2012 Record Year for Airport Passengers

The major airports in Australia have experienced significant passenger volume for 2012.

Sydney Airport saw a total of 36.9 million passengers come in 2012, a 3.6 percent growth compared to 2011. December is the business month for Sydney Airport with a five percent increase in passenger volume.

Melbourne Airport, meanwhile, had more than 29 million passengers, a growth of five percent.

Kerrie Mather, chief executive of Sydney Airport, said the number of international passengers also increased by 5.3 percent while the number of domestic passengers grew more than 2.7 percent in 2012.

Mather said it was great to see a significant growth for bother international and domestic passengers. The biggest growth for international passengers came from Malaysia and Singapore. Passengers from these two countries increased 59 percent and 34 percent respectively.

Brisbane Airport also saw significant growth with a record of 21.5 million passengers. The figure is up 4.5 percent compared to 2011. Julieanne Alroe, managing director of Brisbane Airport, said the growth is because of the cheaper airfares and the resources boom in Queensland.

Chris Woodruff, chief executive of Melbourne Airport, said the growth in its international passengers came from New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Sri Lanka.