A total of 3.25 million passengers passed through Sydney Airport in August 2023, representing an 88.6 percent recovery compared to pre-pandemic August 2019.
This is the second month in a row that the international passenger recovery has been stronger than the domestic.
A total of 1.23 million travellers passed through Sydney Airport’s T1 international terminal in August, which is an 89.7 percent recovery rate on August 2019. In August, the domestic passenger recovery rate was 88.0 percent, with 2.02 million passengers coming through the T2 and T3 domestic terminals.
For the first month since the international border reopened, the number of visitors from the United States has inched above pre-pandemic levels, with a one percent increase on August 2019 numbers. Two notable international markets experiencing a surge in visitor numbers were South Korea and Vietnam.
The number of South Korean passport holders was up 44 percent on August 2019 levels, with strong capacity on the Seoul-Sydney route boosting tourism between the two countries.
The number of Vietnamese passport holders coming through Sydney Airport was 29 percent higher compared to August 2019, with four airlines now flying return flights from Sydney to Vietnam, two more than pre-pandemic.
Sydney Airport CEO, Geoff Culbert, said the domestic recovery remains flat while the international recovery is pressing ahead.
“Recent boosts to capacity from some of our international airlines has led to a surge in overseas visitors, especially from countries like South Korea, the Philippines and Vietnam, where the numbers are now higher than in 2019,” said Culbert.
“The Vietnamese market perfectly illustrates how strong competition and increasing capacity leads to greater demand.”
Leading up to the pandemic, Vietnam was the fastest-growing visitor market in Sydney, with two carriers offering direct flights. This growth has accelerated with newcomers, Vietjet and Bamboo Airways, also operating services between Sydney Airport and Ho Chi Mihn City.
Now, four airlines offer more than 5,000 seats a week to Vietnam, which has increased capacity and boosted tourism for both countries. In August, the number of Vietnamese passport holders flying through Sydney Airport was 29 percent higher than before the pandemic.
“The domestic recovery continues to underwhelm, with the August result 12 percent below 2019.”
