Queensland Airports Limited, which operates Townsville, Gold Coast and Mount Isa airports, recorded a 13 per cent increase in passenger numbers during September.
The growth was driven primarily by the Gold Coast which saw a 19 per cent jump in passenger numbers while Townsville recorded a 1.13 per cent increase, but Mount Isa was lower by 17.29 per cent.
QAL managing director Dennis Chant noted that growth through the Gold Coast has been strong on both the domestic and international fronts. “Gold Coast Airport continued to record exceptional growth in international passenger numbers, increasing by almost 130 per cent over this time last year. However, even more notable is the return to strong domestic growth of nearly 10 per cent after 12 months of little or negative monthly growth.”
Chant also noted that despite the fall in passenger numbers at Mount Isa, there are signs that the airport is starting to see some recovery.“While Mount Isa Airport numbers are down on the same period last year, we have again seen an increase since last month. The last three consecutive months have had the highest passenger numbers for the region since October 2008 and this is a positive sign the region is recovering.”
