Sydney Airport passengers forecast to top 65 million by 2039

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August 27, 2018
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Photo: Sydney Airport.

Sydney Airport plans to expand its international precinct and introduce international services to its domestic terminals to cope with an expected 51 percent increase in passenger traffic to 65.6 million people by 2039.

The increase — from 43.3 million a year in 2017 — will include an almost doubling of international passengers at Australia’s busiest airport from 15.9 million to 31.5 million over the same period.

The forecasts take into account the development of a second airport in Western Sydney that is expected to soak up some aviation demand.

However, Sydney Airport management believes the city’s original airport will continue to benefit from its proximity to Sydney’s central business district and local tourist attractions as well broad connectivity between international, domestic and regional services

Rises in international tourism will see international arrivals gain in importance as a percentage of overall traffic.

“Our proximity to Asia and increases in global tourism and travel are expected to drive international travel,” the airport says in a new Preliminary Master Plan released for public comment Monday.

“In particular, growth in major Asian markets, including China, India, South Korea and Vietnam.

“By 2039, we anticipate that the split between domestic and international passengers traveling through the airport will be 52 percent and 48 percent respectively.”

The welcome news for the increasingly crowded suburbs surrounding the airport is that the Master Plan predicts that growth in aircraft movements will be significantly lower than passenger growth.

It forecasts 408,260 aircraft movements in 2039,  17 percent higher than in 2017, reflecting “airline feedback and expectations regarding continued up-gauging of aircraft and increased seat density and load factors”.

The plans says key operational strategies for coping with the growth include continued development of its T1 international precinct as .swell as the development of a T2/T3 integrated operations precinct accommodating international, domestic and regional passenger services.

This is tipped to include new terminal structures north of T1 and east of T2 and T3 to deliver additional aircraft stands.

These will include 17 additional contact stands and seven aircraft positions serviced by busses.

A northern extension to T1 would include additional immigration services, aircraft gates, baggage reclaim operations as well as customs and transfer facilities.

There are plans for a new satellite pier in the airport’s southwest sector providing a passenger product similar to that “in the current terminal connected piers’.

The airport also plans to join an international trend towards the introduction of “swing gates” designed to optimize the use of terminal infrastructure by allowing the airport to switch from international to domestic and regional aircraft.

Like many airports around the world, Sydney is using technology to help improve the journey through its facilities and reduce queue times.

READ Sydney Airport trials facial recognition to ease passenger pain.

The plan calls for “enhanced access to multi-modal ground transport facilities” and an improvement in passenger connectivity by reducing transfers between precincts.

This includes “a sustainable inter-precinct passenger transfer product that over time would utilize autonomous vehicles”.

Steve Creedy also contributes to the Australian Airports Association’s The Airport Professional blog.