The sky is not the limit

ACCC’s annual review highlights growing demand on airport infrastructure

As you may be aware the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) recently released its annual monitoring report on the performance of Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney Airports for 2011-12. The report assessed the quality, prices, costs and profits related to aeronautical and car parking services provided by the monitored airports. It also provides an historical snapshot of passenger numbers and the evolving airport operating environment.

One of the key findings of the report was that passenger numbers at the monitored airports increased for a tenth consecutive year. Sydney continued to have the most passengers – 36 million annually, followed by Melbourne with 28 million. There was also a solid increase in passenger numbers, to 21 million annually, at Brisbane Airport. Perth registered the strongest growth among monitored airports driven by substantial growth in domestic travel and growth in international travel with 13 million passengers, while Adelaide had 7.1 million passengers – a slight decline on previous years – for the monitored period.