![Asian passenger numbers through Melbourne Airport are surging.](http://thewofa.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Melb-Airport-Feb-18-2010-322-300x181.jpg)
Melbourne Airport has recorded an 11.8 per cent increase in passengers during September, driven by significant growth in international traffic.
International traffic at the airport totalled 519,042 passengers for the month, representing a 15.7 per cent increase compared to September 2009. The airport said that Asian passport holders helped to drive the growth, particularly Malaysian (up 56 per cent), South Korean (up 42 per cent) and Taiwanese (up 23 per cent) passport holders.
The strong September helped round out a strong quarter for the airport, according to CEO Chris Woodruff. “This is the fourth consecutive quarter of double digit growth in international passenger traffic at Melbourne Airport. Our rate of international passenger growth has consistently outperformed our competition for the year to date,” he said.
Domestic traffic was also up sharply, with 1.89 million passengers over the month passing through its domestic terminals, representing growth of 10.8 per cent. That appears to have been driven by strong growth in services from low cost carriers Jetstar and Tiger Airways.