Melbourne and Brisbane airports recorded double-digit growth in international passengers in April as local and overseas flyers took to the skies over Easter and the ANZAC Day weekends.
Tullamarine had 651,320 international passengers in April, up 13.8 per cent from the same month a year ago, while in Brisbane, international traffic rose by 13.7 per cent to 408,540 in April.
Brisbane Airport Corporation chief executive Julieanne Alroe said extra flights and the timing of Easter helped boost overseas passengers in April.
“There was a combination of factors contributing to the high passenger numbers recorded in April including the timing of holidays this year,” Alroe said in a statement. “Notably, a number of international airlines have boosted capacity into Brisbane, in-conjunction with offering incredible fares which stimulate tourism to our great city and state.
“If this trend continues, and we have no reason to believe it won’t, we look forward to finishing the financial year with another passenger number record breaking year at BNE.”
By contrast to the growth at Brisbane and Melbourne, international passengers rose by a more modest 6.6 per cent at Sydney Airport in April.
Sydney Airport chief executive Kerrie Mather said visitors from China were behind the growth in international traffic.