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Queensland Airports Limited has seen international passenger traffic jump by a quarter in the 2025-26 financial year.
The operator of Gold Coast, Townsville, Mount Isa and Longreach airports recorded 8.4 million total passengers in the 12 months to the end of June, up half a million on the previous year, with Gold Coast Airport seeing the most substantial growth, up 7.7 per cent on FY25 to 6.5 million.
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“International traffic was the standout, with the airport also marking its busiest year on record for Trans-Tasman travel,” the company said in a statement.
According to QAL CEO Amelia Evans, the “outstanding” result at Gold Coast Airport was driven by “strong airline relationships and growing demand for travel across the regions it serves”.
“We welcomed multiple additional services across our network this year including from Gold Coast to Bali, Fiji, Hamilton, Dunedin and Auckland as well as increased capacity on key markets such as Gold Coast–Melbourne, Gold Coast–Sydney and Townsville–Brisbane,” she said.
“These results are a testament to the advocacy of our team, the support of our government and tourism partners and the confidence our airline partners have in the regions our airports serve.
“Gold Coast Airport in particular recorded significant growth, with domestic passenger numbers up six per cent, Trans-Tasman travel increasing by more than 20 per cent, and other international markets growing by more than 53 per cent on FY25.”
QAL, the largest regional airport operator in the country, also said it outpaced the national average for airport passenger growth in FY26.
Townsville Airport saw solid growth, up around two per cent to 1.7 million passengers, while Mount Isa and Longreach airports recorded 233,000 and 34,000 passengers respectively.
“In Townsville, leisure and business demand remained strong – with airlines boosting capacity on the Brisbane route by more than 120,000 additional seats, helping drive six per cent growth in passengers travelling on the service,” said Evans.
Gold Coast Airport this year saw one of its busiest-ever holiday peak periods, with more than 1.2 million passengers in December and January.
Around 47,000 more passengers transited the airport in the 2025 holiday peak than in 2024, with 600,000 in December and a further 637,000 in January.
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