Chinese travellers take back #1 spot for Sydney Airport overseas arrivals

Sydney Australia June 16, 2014 -Airbus A340 in Etihad colour scheme  has just taken off from Sydney Kingsford Smith airport on a clear day with very blue skies, with the city Skyline in the background, also visible some cargo Commercial Airplanes
Edited by Travel Weekly


    For the first time since COVID travel restrictions eased, the international recovery at Sydney Airport has overtaken the domestic recovery, with a surge of passengers from China boosting international traffic numbers for July 2023.

    This is the first time Chinese passengers have ranked as the number one overseas visitors since pre-pandemic 2019, when they consistently were the most popular foreign passport holders at Sydney Airport.

    The number of Chinese nationals coming through the T1 international terminal in July represents a 76 per cent recovery rate on pre-pandemic July 2019 passengers, up from 69 per cent in June.

    Another market experiencing strong growth is South Korea, with 20 per cent more Korean nationals flying through Sydney than in July 2019.

    The Seoul-Sydney route has been growing in popularity, with 5 airlines now operating services; Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, T’way Air, Jetstar and Qantas. Pre-COVID only two airlines serviced this route.

    Source: Sydney Airport

    Sydney Airport CEO, Geoff Culbert, said: “The underlying result on passenger traffic for July is mixed. The headline result for international passengers is encouraging but it’s a two-speed recovery, with strong growth from China, Korea and India offset by lagging markets like the USA and New Zealand.

    “The lag is being driven by a lack of seat capacity rather than a lack of demand. Additionally, seats from the Middle East remain well below pre-COVID levels, down 27 per cent on July 2019.

    “The trend with respect to domestic activity has continued, with passenger numbers stagnant over the past 15 months. We continue to see evidence of unused slots going to waste, with a persistent mismatch between slots held by domestic airlines and the schedule that is flown.”

    Source: Sydney Airport

    A total of 3.38 million passengers passed through Sydney Airport in July 2023, representing an 87.8 per cent recovery compared to pre-pandemic July 2019.

    Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

    sydney airport

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