Record year for Sydney Airport
Sydney Airport has reported a record year, with 36.9 million passengers passing through the airport in 2012.
The number represents an increase of 3.6% on 2011 figures, with December emerging as the busiest month on record as traffic climbed 5.2%.
Chief executive Kerrie Mather described it as an "exceptional result".
"It was exciting to see such a significant increase in both international and domestic low cost carrier capacity, in particular Scoot, Jetstar and AirAsia X internationally and the expansion of domestic services by Jetstar and Tiger," she said.
International traffic rose 5.8% in December and 5.3% for the year, with Malaysian and Singaporean passengers leading the charge with increases of 59% and 34% respectively.
Australian outbound travel grew 6.5% in December and 5.9% for the full year.
"The outbound increase was driven by travel to South East Asian destinations such as Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, as well as travel further afield to locations such as the UAE, US, UK and Japan," Mather said.
Domestic traffic also saw growth, rising 4.8% for the month and 2.7% for the year with capacity hikes the key driver, according to Mather.
"Tiger and Jetstar have increased seat capacity materially over 2012 with both airlines introducing new routes and increasing frequencies on existing routes," she said.
Meanwhile, Melbourne Airport saw passenger growth of 5% for the calendar year to reach 29.3 million passengers.
The rise was also driven by growing international numbers and domestic capacity increases, according to chief executive Chris Woodruff.
"Throughout the year, we completed a number of key infrastructure projects, including facility and road improvements, to support our growth," he added.
The airport will publish its draft Master Plan in the first quarter of this year, setting out its vision for future development of the airport over the next two decades.
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