Airport World - Joe Bates
CEO, Geoff Culbert, talks to Joe Bates more about Sydney Airport’s recovery from the global pandemic and ongoing efforts to enhance the Australian hub’s facilities and services.
Domestically, passenger traffic was 82.9% recovered in February, compared to pre-COVID levels. However, our international passenger numbers are lagging and were only 76.3% recovered in February compared to February 2019. The challenge is the lack of capacity, which is translating to high airfares. We need to get more international capacity, so airfares come down. Australia is a long way from the rest of the world, and it is expensive to get here, so that handbrake needs to be released.
Australia also needs a sustained recovery in aviation capacity to support the recovery of key export markets including high-value agriculture, business travel, and international students.