Footy record! Finals help Melbourne Airport kick ahead in September.

Average daily passenger numbers at Melbourne Airport hit a new post-pandemic high in September with more than 2.9 million people taking flight for the footy finals and school holidays.

Last month Melbourne Airport welcomed a total of 2,006,641 domestic travellers and another 894,703 international passengers, which represents an overall increase of 18 per cent on September 2022.

On average, 96,711 people passed through the terminals each day, with the airport breaking its post-pandemic daily passenger record on three successive Fridays, culminating in 113,754 travellers on the Grand Final Friday public holiday.

There was a small increase in domestic capacity, which has largely plateaued over the past six months, with average daily domestic seat numbers reaching a new post-pandemic high and load factors at 82%.

Melbourne Airport Chief Executive Officer Lorie Argus said airport infrastructure upgrades would allow airlines to bring in more capacity and provide consumers with extra choice.

“Enabling more competition will help push ticket prices down and ensure passengers have more choice to fly to more destinations,” she said.

“Airports are subject to regular monitoring by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, and it makes sense that this arrangement be extended across the broader aviation industry.

“We also believe an open skies approach to bilateral air service agreements will benefit consumers by maximising competition and choice.

“We know that the average daily international flight is worth $154 million a year to the Victorian economy, which is why we work closely with the State Government to bring new services to Melbourne.

“Our investment in terminal, airfield and road infrastructure will ensure Melbourne Airport is able to support the extra capacity required to keep up with demand from our growing population.”

Passenger figures for September 2023: 

*Monthly percentage growth compared to September 2022

Passenger figures for Financial Year to date

*Percentage growth compared to FY 2022/23

For further information please contact Melbourne Airport media on +61 3 9335 3666.