TNQ attracting more airline passengers than Brisbane, Sydney and the Gold Coast
Cairns Airport is outstripping Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast for growth in passenger arrivals, according to the latest data for the 2017 financial year.
Blog cairnseconomy.com reported the most recent comparative data from the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics for the top 20 airports nationally shows tourism-related destinations dominated in 2017, along with Canberra and Newcastle.
Year to year annual growth in passenger numbers to June 2017 at Cairns Airport were up 4 per cent compared with 1.5 per cent in Brisbane, 2.9 per cent on the Gold Coast, 3.7 per cent in Sydney and 3.5 per cent on the Gold Coast.
One of the best performing airports was at Ballina in the Northern Rivers region of NSW, which recorded growth of 6.5 per cent.
The latest figures are continuing good news for TNQ, with Cairns Airport saying it was looking forward to a further boost in international passenger numbers in the coming months with China Southern set to start its Guangzhou - Cairns flights in December and with existing airlines increasing their flight frequency.
The airport said its busiest routes to Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, which have services operated by all four major domestic airlines, continued to help lead passenger growth into TNQ.
