Aviation
Chapter 8
This chapter provides data on airline activity, aircraft numbers, on time performance and airfare price indexes. Information is provided for both international and domestic airlines, as well as a breakdown of airport traffic by state.
- 616 thousand Australian domestic flights occurred in 2023–24. As with internal activity, the full recovery of the aviation industry to pre COVID levels has not yet occurred. At the height of the pandemic, domestic flights fell to 327 thousand, fewer than flight numbers in 1977–78.
- Sydney had the highest number of aircraft movements with 300 thousand in 2023–24.
- 11 832 Piston aircraft were registered as of 31 December 2023 which is 812 more than the year before. The number of helicopters registered increased from 2 351 to 2 593 over the same period.
- International flights from Australia are steadily recovering from the impacts of COVID. In 2023‑24 there were 196 thousand flights, up from only 45 thousand three years earlier.
Figure 17 shows Australia's top 40 airports by domestic and international passenger movements. Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane are the airports which experienced the most activity, with some regional airports outside of the top 30 entering and exiting the list.
Figure 17 Australia's top 40 airports in 2023–24, passengers
Figure 18 shows international and domestic revenue passengers. Since the early 80s, the number of fare-paying passengers, uplifted and discharged in Australia, was steadily increasing both domestically and internationally, before a sharp drop beginning in 2019–20. 2023–24 activity shows a strong trajectory to return to pre-COVID pandemic record highs in the coming years.
Figure 18 International and domestic airline revenue passengers
