Sydney air passenger flow to rebound from September low

Passenger traffic at Australia's busiest airport of Sydney in New South Wales (NSW) dropped to a new low in September, although it is poised to rebound as Victoria reopens the state border to fully Covid-19 vaccinated NSW residents and NSW removes its travel restrictions.

The number of passengers that used Sydney airport dropped to 42,000 in September from 51,000 in August, 133,000 in September 2020 and 3.65mn in September 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic began closing state and international borders, according to operator Sydney Airport.

The record low in passenger numbers reflects the Covid-19 lockdowns in Sydney and some areas of regional NSW, as well as the closure of borders to all other states in Australia because of the Sydney outbreak. International borders also remained closed to all but returning Australians and exempt international travellers following the suspension of quarantine-free travel with New Zealand in late July.

Sydney started coming out of its lockdown on 11 October when NSW vaccination rates hit 70pc. Restrictions were further eased on 18 October when they reached 80pc, but overnight regional travel will not be allowed until 1 November when regional flights typically increase ahead of Christmas.

Victoria removed the need for fully vaccinated travellers from Sydney to quarantine for two weeks from today, opening up the lucrative Sydney-Melbourne route to more passengers. Queensland plans to open its borders to NSW travellers from mid-December, potentially leading to an increase in passengers through Sydney aiming to spend Christmas and the long summer holiday in January in Queensland.

The NSW government has also scrapped the need for international arrivals to quarantine on arrival into the state from the start of November, potentially opening it up to more international travellers. This prompted Australian airline Qantas to bring forward its plans to restart international flights to 1 November.

By Jo Clarke