Melbourne Airport welcomed a record number of passengers in the 2018-19 financial year as numbers grew almost 2 percent to 37.4 million travelers.
Overseas visitors helped drive a 5.3 percent rise in international passengers at Australia's second-biggest airport compared to 2017-18 and offset soft domestic passenger growth of 0.4 percent.
More than 11.4 million international passengers passed through the airport with the top five nationalities listed as China/Hong Kong, New Zealand, India, United Kingdom and the United States.
READ: Australian domestic airline growth flat in May
Australians also seemed willing to pack up their troubles in the old kit bag with local passport holders heading overseas through Melbourne rising by 5.9 percent in 2018-19.
The airport also welcomed two new carriers in the 12 months — Cebu Pacific and Air Vanuatu — to bring the total number of carriers to 36.
“The growth in the international market is phenomenal, rising by more than five percent on the 2017/18 financial year, which clearly demonstrates the popularity in overseas travel and strength in Melbourne as a tourism destination,m’’ Melbourne Airport chief executive Lyell Strambi said in a statement.
“We are also seeing growth diversify into markets such as India, Canada and the Philippines, which is really exciting for our operation.”
However, the airport’s numbers for June were less rosy.
Flat international passenger growth and a fall in domestic numbers pushed Melbourne Airport’s overall growth into the red compared with June 2018.
Overall passenger numbers for the month were down 1 percent to 2.9 million as domestic numbers fell 1.4 percent compared to the same month a year ago.
Weak international passenger growth of 0.1 percent failed to offset the domestic fall.
Strambi said expanding the airport’s international network was a priority.
But how the airport intends to grow has become a subject of debate in Melbourne after management revealed in June a surprise decision to put a new runway development on hold as it considered switching directions.
It had been planning since 2013 to build a new east-west runway but said it was now looking at a north-south runway that would less susceptible to delays due to wind.
A new completion date two years later than anticipated has prompted fears of congestion at the airport and the direction change has alarmed nearby communities.
“Due to a number of factors which have changed over time, we have undertaken a planning review over the last six months to assess whether east-west remains the preferred option for the third runway that we announced in 2013,’’ Strambi said in a statement issued at the time.
“Our review provides strong evidence to suggest the north-south parallel could now provide a superior outcome in terms of availability, capacity, long-term investment profile and community impacts.”
The airport boss said it was important to note no decision to change the direction of the runway.
“Instead, we will enter a period of technical consultation with our airline customers, the federal government, regulatory bodies and other stakeholders to inform our final decision,” he said.
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