Melbourne Airport his 27 million mark

Asian passenger numbers through Melbourne Airport are surging.

Melbourne Airport has reported that a record 27.7 million passengers passed through its terminals last year, thanks in part to a strong December.

The 27.7 million passenger figure represents a 10 per cent increase over 2009 passenger numbers, bolstered partly by a 14 per cent increase in international arrivals in 2010, to 5.9 million international passengers. The strong international passenger performance was driven by growth from the United Kingdom, Asia and New Zealand markets.

Melbourne Airport CEO Chris Woodruff said in a statement that he believed the Ashes cricket series contributed to strong December passenger growth, which helped to see a total of 591,108 passengers pass through Melbourne Airport – up 13 per cent from 2009. “We welcomed 40,091 United Kingdom passport holders in December, a 20 per cent increase over the same period last year,” Woodruff said.

“Access to Asia, Victoria’s fastest growing market, was further buoyed by the launch of Jetstar’s new daily Singapore service in December, which provides a springboard to a further 22 destinations across Asia via Jetstar’s Singapore base.

“Jetstar also launched new direct daily Melbourne flights to Auckland and twice weekly flights to Queenstown in December, offering terrific value and a greater choice of travel options to New Zealand.”