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Sydney Airport has seen a drop in slot allocations for the six months to the end of October.
The impact of the Middle East conflict, including increases in the cost of jet fuel brought on by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, has caused “higher than normal slot cancellations as airlines adjust their capacity and reshape networks”, according to slot manager ACL Asia Pacific.
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“High fuel prices have rendered some price-sensitive services uneconomic in the short-term, but underlying demand for slots at SYD remains robust,” said ACL in a press release.
“Four per cent of all take-off and landing slots for the Northern Summer 26 scheduling period, starting late March to the end of October, at SYD have been cancelled.
“International services saw the biggest decline, with six per cent cancelled, while domestic slots are down three per cent for the period. The highest cancellation rates are for carriers servicing China, Middle East, India, Philippines and Vietnam.”
India is the hardest-hit, with 32 per cent of all slots cancelled from April to October, followed by China and Qatar at 24 per cent each, the UAE at 22 per cent, the Philippines at 18 per cent, and Vietnam at 12 per cent, though Middle East cancellation rates have since moderated.
According to ACL, while “no region has escaped unscathed”, the airport has benefited from “increased services to meet demand caused by altered travel patterns ex-Sydney”.
“Of the Asian hubs, Malaysia is the best example with a three per cent increase in slots to cater for increased demand from European-bound travellers avoiding Middle East hubs,” the slot manager said.
“Slots to Thailand rose marginally, while Vanuatu (seven per cent) and Canada (seven per cent) saw substantial slot increases.
“Airlines also added capacity on services connecting Sydney travellers to Europe, including Italy and France via Perth, as passengers increasingly sought alternatives to Middle East hubs and airspace affected by the conflict.”
Despite the recent drop, ACL says it is seeing “strong demand” for slots in Northern Winter 26, with international slot demand up six per cent and domestic up 0.5 per cent year-on-year.
ACL Asia Pacific Coordination Manager Darren Batty said that these figures suggest the current reductions are “being driven by short-term geopolitical and economic factors rather than any weakening in airline interest in serving Sydney, Australia’s largest international gateway”.
“While airlines are responding to fuel costs and geopolitical uncertainty in the short term, demand for access to Sydney remains strong,” said
“What we’re seeing is airlines adapting their networks to changing market conditions, and the increase in slot requests for the next scheduling period is a positive indication of Sydney’s ongoing importance to global airline networks.”
Sydney Airport this month noted “resilient” passenger numbers in the previous quarter despite the Iran conflict.
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