In total, the airport saw 4.08 million international passengers, compared to 6.29 in the 2019 financial year, and 16.08 million domestic passengers, compared to 17.6 million in FY19. Additionally, June 2023 saw a 98 per cent domestic recovery and 77 per cent international recovery on June 2019.
The works, which include maintenance on the main north-south runway 16R/34L, building new taxiways, and the construction of Sydney Gateway motorway, will mean late-night freight aircraft and others permitted during curfew hours will use the parallel north-south runway 16L/34R instead.
The proposed options include allowing aircraft to both arrive and depart over Moreton Bay as a priority when conditions allow, and implementing noise-sharing alternatives to ease the nighttime impacts on communities to the north and north-east of the airport.
The airport’s first international flight since the pandemic, Fiji Airways flight FJ950, left Canberra on board the 737 MAX 8 DQ-FAF at 2:39pm on Friday. Two return services per week will operate between Canberra and Nadi on Tuesdays and Fridays, with Sunday flights to be added from October.
It follows a similar situation in Sydney which led to its CEO telling big airlines to use their take-off slots or gift them to smaller carriers to increase competition.
New BITRE data released by the Department of Transport presents fresh evidence that major airlines are taking advantage of the rules around take-off slots to punish smaller rivals.