A drastic fall in passengers at Gold Coast airport poses significant impact on local economy

A drastic fall in passengers numbers has been recorded at Gold Coast Airport, leading bosses to say “tough decisions will need to be made”.

A DRASTIC fall in passenger numbers has been recorded at Gold Coast Airport – with figures close to what they were 20 years ago.

Queensland Airports Limited (QAL) boss Chris Mills has hinted at job cuts saying “we do expect tough decisions will need to be made”.

He said QAL’s main ports, including the Gold Coast, are suffering following further Federal Government travel restrictions, reductions to airline services and general changes to travel behaviour.

Gold Coast Airport International Arrivals is like a ghost town with very few passengers arriving. Picture: Scott Powick.

MORE NEWS

Coast bars close within minutes of PM’s speech

Dreamworld halts construction of new rollercoaster

NAPLAN cancelled amid coronavirus fears

“The impacts of COVID-19 started to be felt in February by the airport group, which owns and operates Gold Coast, Townsville, Mount Isa and Longreach airports,” he said.

“But the decline has accelerated significantly in March.

“With these cuts, passenger numbers at Gold Coast Airport could be back to the figures we saw almost 20 years ago.

“Given that two-thirds of all passengers at Gold Coast Airport are inbound visitors, the impact this is having on the Gold Coast economy is significant.

“On just one key Gold Coast route with one airline group, we have seen combined return services cut from almost 100 per week down to 35.

“In the next few months, we are expecting traffic to be around a quarter of what we normally see this time of year, including over what would normally be a busy Easter holiday period.”

Mr Mills said it was a challenging time for the business, with the aviation sector particularly hard hit by COVID-19.

Leaving the Gold Coast Airport with a face mask, Mark Moyle arrives back from Vietnam amid the coronavirus crisis. Photo: Scott Powick.

“We are completely focused on guiding our business through these difficult times, however we do expect tough decisions will need to be made,” he said.

“Apart from the airlines, who are clearly hurting, there are so many other jobs linked to airport activities – our teams, retailers, car hire, construction – the list goes on.

“Our people, passengers and partners are top of mind during this crisis.

“We continue to work with the federal and state government authorities regarding the COVID-19 response. Beyond the immediate crisis, their support for this industry will be critical.”