While the Aussie dollar may be worth less than at this time last year, there is no sign of economic doldrums at Melbourne Airport.
In the past 12 months, for the first time, more than 30 million passengers travelled through Tullamarine airport.
And in July alone, passenger numbers rose by 194,000 as 2,703,447
travellers came and went. That’s a rise of 8 per cent on the same period
last year.
Domestic passenger numbers at the airport grew by 6 per cent, taking last month’s total to 2,043,036.
International passenger numbers grew 12 per cent in July this year to reach 660,411.
The strongest growth was in passengers from Taiwan, the United Kingdom, Ireland, China, Singapore and Thailand.
Melbourne Airport’s chief executive, Chris Woodruff, said the record figures were significant.
“We’re continuing to improve access to Melbourne Airport, with
construction to double the capacity of our main entrance, Terminal
Drive, well under way,” he said.
“As the home base for Jetstar and Tigerair, Melbourne is
Australia’s centre of domestic aviation growth, and early works for our
new T4 domestic terminal project to support this growth are now under
way.
“During the month, the federal government also approved the plans
for an extension of Airport Drive, which will provide an alternative
entry point directly off the M80 Western Ring Road for traffic coming
from the west or into our busy business park and freight precinct,” Mr
Woodruff said.
“The works are part of our transformation of Melbourne Airport, which will include a major upgrade and
expansion to our international terminal with new aircraft gates and
check-in counters, and efficiency improvements in baggage and border
processing areas.”
