AUSTRALIA | The ACCC'S Airport Monitoring Report has shown record aeronautical revenues in 2023 to 2024 in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth.
Australia’s four largest airports, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, each reported their highest-ever aeronautical revenues in 2023 2024, the ACCC’s latest Airport Monitoring Report shows.
The 24.3 percent increase in revenues to AUD 2.6 billion occurred despite the four major airports collectively handling fewer passengers than before the pandemic. While domestic and international passengers grew by 13.7 percent to 114.6 million since 2022 to 2023, passenger numbers remained 4.7 percent below 2018 to 2019 levels.
“The increase in aeronautical revenues in 2023 to 2024 was driven in large part by the continued recovery in international passenger numbers, which rose by 32.1 percent at the four airports monitored in our report,” ACCC Commissioner Anna Brakey said.
“Domestic passenger numbers also grew by 6.7 percent.”
Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne airports also substantially increased their operating profits from aeronautical activities in 2023 to 2024.
“Sydney Airport was once again clearly the most profitable of the four major airports for aeronautical services in 2023-24, both in aggregate and on a per-passenger basis,” Brakey said.
In 2023 to 2024 Sydney Airport recorded an aeronautical operating profit of AUD 570.5 million, which represented a 20.2 percent return on its aeronautical assets.
Sydney Airport advised that both its aeronautical revenues and operating profits in the year were inflated by back-payments received during the 2023 o 2024 financial year from its contractual agreements with airlines. The agreements started on 1 July 2022, but the terms were not agreed to until the 2023 to 2024 financial year.
Brisbane and Melbourne airports reported aeronautical operating profits of AUD 194.7 million and AUD 198.9 million respectively, despite Brisbane Airport catering to far fewer passengers than Melbourne Airport. Both airports reported a 64.1 percent increase in aeronautical operating profit in 2023 2024.
Perth Airport was the only monitored airport to report a fall in aeronautical profits, down by 29.1 percent to AUD 70.7 million after a significant increase in security and depreciation expenses.
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