Sunita Somvanshi
Brisbane Airport has officially returned to 100% of its pre-COVID passenger numbers, with the International Terminal recording its two busiest months ever in December 2024 and January 2025.
The airport saw 631,700 international passengers in December, breaking the previous record set in January 2020 when 620,000 travelers used the International Terminal. This record was short-lived, however, as January 2025 brought 638,800 international passengers through the facility.
These figures place Brisbane’s international passenger traffic at 109% of pre-COVID levels, while domestic travel reached 104% of pre-pandemic numbers for January. This makes Brisbane the first of Australia’s three major airports to exceed pre-pandemic domestic travel figures, outpacing both Melbourne (97%) and Sydney (91.5%).
“We are proud to have achieved this milestone which has come about through a lot of hard work, close collaboration and strong partnerships,” said Brisbane Airport CEO Gert-Jan de Graaff. “While we acknowledge this is a milestone worth celebrating, this will be the last time we ever talk publicly about 2019 numbers. This is a line-in-the-sand moment.”
Over the summer peak from December 13, 2024, to January 27, 2025, more than 3.1 million passengers passed through Brisbane Airport. Peak travel days included Friday, December 13, 2024, when 54,877 domestic passengers moved through the airport, and Sunday, December 22, 2024, which saw 24,164 international travelers.
New Routes Driving Growth
The growth in international traffic has been driven by several new routes, including American Airlines to Dallas-Fort Worth, Delta Air Lines to Los Angeles, Jetstar to Bangkok, and Qantas to Manila and Palau. Existing carriers such as United Airlines, China Eastern, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, and Qantas have also increased capacity on their Brisbane routes.
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The top five international routes for January 2025 were Brisbane to/from Auckland, Singapore, Dubai, Bali, and Tokyo.
De Graaff acknowledged the role of the Queensland Government’s Attracting Aviation Investment Fund and Tourism and Events Queensland in securing increased capacity into Brisbane Airport.
Future Investment
Brisbane Airport Corporation is planning significant investments for future growth. “We’re investing more than $5 billion across the airport over the next decade in retail, logistics and infrastructure development,” de Graaff stated.
This investment includes renovations to the International Terminal, which will see the most significant changes in its 29 years of operation. Security and passport control will be relocated from level three to level four, while security screening equipment will be enhanced. Self-service check-in and bag drop facilities will be installed, baggage systems upgraded, and retail offerings expanded, including doubling the size of the duty-free area.
“Our international terminal is Queensland’s gateway to the world. After three decades of service, it’s well and truly time for a transformation, ensuring it’s ready to welcome the world for years to come,” said de Graaff.
Construction on these improvements will be phased to minimize disruption, with completion expected by 2027.
Domestic Travel Trends
Brisbane’s success in domestic travel comes at a time when other Australian airports are still struggling to reach pre-pandemic levels. Industry analysts attribute the slower recovery at other airports to a combination of cost-of-living pressures and reduced business travel, with many companies continuing to rely on video calls instead of in-person meetings.
Perth Airport has also been performing well, consistently exceeding its 2019 performance throughout 2023, supported by FIFO (fly-in, fly-out) flights serving the mining industry and Qantas 787 routes to Europe.
“The simple fact is these numbers are being driven by a growing demand from Queenslanders who want to travel and by international visitors who want to come to our beautiful state,” de Graaff explained. “That demand is only going to increase.”
Brisbane Airport’s growth reflects broader trends in Queensland tourism and highlights the region’s recovery and expansion in the post-pandemic travel market.
