Successful and transformative

Reflecting on 20 years of airport privatisation

We have recently commemorated a significant milestone in Australia’s aviation history, with the 20th anniversary of the first federal airport lease agreements for three of our biggest airports; Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. The signing of these agreements in July 1997 signalled the start of what has arguably been one of the most successful and transformative infrastructure privatisation processes this country has ever seen.

By 2003 a further 18 airports across Australia (including Sydney, Adelaide, Canberra, Darwin, Gold Coast, Cairns and Hobart) had been privatised under federal lease agreements with the Commonwealth Government. Prior to airport privatisation, Australia’s top 10 major airports saw the movement of just over 20 million passengers a year through their terminals. By 2016 this number had exploded to more than 42 million per annum and is expected to continue growing steadily in the years ahead.