Sydney Airport sees 17.3% increase in Chinese passengers during 2017
A large rise in the number of passengers travelling in and out of Sydney Airport from China has led to a record-breaking 2017.
Overall passenger numbers rose by 3.6% versus 2016 to 43.3mn, while international passenger numbers went up by 7.2%. The standout in these figures were passenger numbers from China, which rocketed by 17.3%.
Sydney Airport CEO Geoff Culbert said: “Our strong growth has been underpinned by capacity development predominantly on the Middle Eastern, Asian and US routes. The capacity additions have totalled well over 1mn new international seats for the second consecutive year and the pipeline of capacity announcements continues to be strong for the coming season.”
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Passenger numbers from India rose by 16%, while the 6.6% more flyers from America checked in and out of Sydney Airport. This and other international traffic will be further boosted by the upgrading and opening of new routes.
Culbert added: “Pleasingly, Malaysian Airlines, Tianjin Airlines and Hainan Airlines all announced capacity additions this month. Malaysian Airlines becomes the ninth carrier choosing to use the A380 to serve Sydney Airport, capping off a stellar year during which we were the world’s fastest growing A380 port3. Tianjin Airlines and Hainan Airlines both announced their services would commence year-round.
“Sydney Airport now serves 17 mainland Chinese cities which represent almost 90% of all travel on the China-Sydney route. We see the next wave of Chinese growth underpinned by increasing competition, frequency and upgauges.”
Sydney is also in the process of planning a new airport to the west of city, a $5.3bn project which will cater for 10mn passengers annually in its early years of operation.
