International carriers at Sydney Airport. (Rob Finlayson)
Australia’s international aviation sector continues to see signs of improvement after nearly 1.3 million people traveled internationally in May, up 85% in just two months since March.
According to new figures released by the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics (BITRE), international travel figures have continued to improve since the full reopening of Australia’s borders on 21 February.
While the numbers are still 59.6% lower than the 3.2 million passengers seen in May 2019, the figure remains a significant increase from reports earlier this year. February figures recorded around 430,000 scheduled international passengers, while March rose to 700,000.
Total seat utilization has also almost returned to pre-pandemic levels, with a May 2022 seat utilization of 74.3%, which is only 4.3% below levels seen in May 2019.
This should be taken with a grain of salt, however, as the total number of available seats on international flights in May 2022 was just 1.75 million, a 58% decrease from seats available in the same month of 2019.
Apart from the increase in international numbers, the total number of passengers has also been steadily increasing throughout the year. At the end of May 2022, total passenger traffic for the previous year stood at just over 5 million, an increase of 2 million from the end of February this year.
The number of domestic flights has also increased during this period, although the increase has not been as significant as that seen in the international figures. During the May period, 4.66 million passengers traveled on domestic routes, an increase of around 700,000. The numbers, while positive, are still around 500,000 below pre-pandemic levels, with 5.13 million passengers traveling in May 2019.
Melbourne to Sydney remains Australia’s busiest air route, unsurprisingly. However, Sydney Airport overtook Melbourne Airport to regain its pre-pandemic position as the country’s busiest airport with 1.84 million passengers during May. During the pandemic, Melbourne eclipsed Sydney Airport, with Melbourne Airport seeing more passengers even in March this year.
Singapore Airlines continued to maintain its position as the leader in the number of passengers transported throughout May, representing 16.9% of the total number of passengers. However, the airline barely edged out Qantas, which accounted for 16.8 per cent of passengers during the May period. Both airlines were closely followed by Emirates with 10.5 percent.
While Singapore Airlines has maintained its position as the number one passenger carrier, the gap between it and its competitors has narrowed since the beginning of the year. The airline’s market share has fallen from 20.5% in February to 18.9% in March as competing airlines increase capacity.
Australia’s designated airlines continue to struggle compared to their pre-pandemic levels, with Qantas Airways, Jetstar and Virgin accounting for a combined 26.7% of total passengers in May, down from 33.8% of May 2019 and 29.3% in May. 2021