Sydney Airport passenger traffic continues slide

Australia's Sydney Airport said its international passenger traffic is down by 38.9pc for the year to date compared with the same period in 2019, with domestic traffic 37.4pc lower, amid the Covid-19 pandemic's impact on air travel.

This is a further indicator that Australian jet fuel demand will weaken further in May from the low reached in March.

International traffic is 97.7pc lower so far in May compared with a year earlier and domestic traffic is 97.4pc lower over the same period, Sydney Airport chief executive Geoff Culbert said at the firm's annual meeting today.

"Unfortunately, we don't have a crystal ball that can tell you when domestic or international travel will start up," Culbert said.

The Australian federal government and state governments are gradually easing travel restrictions. Canberra has been in discussion with the New Zealand government about opening air travel again between the two countries.

"We are an active contributor to the work that is being done to restore both domestic and trans-Tasman travel in the short to medium term, and our aim is to leverage this experience to create a template for the eventual full restoration of international travel," Culbert said.

There are no border closures in New South Wales where Sydney airport is located, but there are border closures in Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory.

By Kevin Morrison