Christmas rush starts as 12 million Australians set to flock to airlines and airports
Australia’s airports and airlines are braced for the busiest Christmas period since before the pandemic, and they’re pulling out all the stops to minimise the risk of disruptions.
Australia’s airports and airlines are gearing up for the busiest Christmas holiday period in four years, with nearly half the country set to board a flight in the coming weeks.
Keen to avoid a repeat of the disruptions experienced in the initial post-Covid period, airlines are keeping additional aircraft on standby to mitigate delays, and the industry has recruited thousands more staff and offered incentives to ensure bags are out on the carousel promptly.
The Qantas Group expects to fly 500,000 passengers more than in 2022 with over 8.5 million people set to travel in December and January across 70,000 Qantas and Jetstar flights, while Virgin Australia forecasts 3.3 million to travel across its network.
Friday was the busiest day of the Christmas period for Qantas and Jetstar, with more than 150,000 people boarding a domestic or international flight. Airports have reported that facilities have so far passed the stress test with security lines moving and majority of flights getting underway on time.
Sydney Airport expects its busiest Christmas in four years with 2.6 million passengers flying between December 14 and January 3 — 500,000 more than 2022.
Melbourne Airport chief executive Lorie Argus said that a record 1.6 million international passengers were expected to fly through the airport over December and January as it became the first airport to exceed pre-Covid levels with the addition of thrice-weekly flights to Mumbai with Air India from Friday.
“It’s exciting that we will no longer be benchmarking ourselves against pre-pandemic levels in the international market, but instead setting new records,” she said.
In total, Melbourne Airport expects to welcome more than 4.2 million people through its terminals between December 20 and January 29.
The busiest day for Brisbane Airport is December 22 with 94,300 passengers set to fly. In total, 3.7 million are forecasted to fly over the Queensland school holidays.
Brisbane Airport spokesman Peter Doherty said that the days of disruptions at airports were a thing of the past with efforts made to shore up staffing numbers.
“Everyone from airports to airlines to all the contractors have really not only built up to 100 per cent staffing levels, they’re now beyond that for these school holidays. It puts everyone in a strong position and that’s reflected in how smoothly things are going in the terminals for our for our customers and our passengers.
“We’re seeing large numbers of people coming in and lots of travellers from New South Wales and lots of travellers from Victoria. And when our airports are busy, that means wonders for Queensland’s tourism industry”
Sydney Airport chief executive Scott Charlton said international travel is booming this Christmas with volumes up 34 per cent in the past year, with the airport almost back to pre-pandemic levels.
“Airline capacity is now back to full strength, or beyond, to many key international destinations including the United States, China, South Korea, Indonesia and Vietnam,” he said.
“This is the first Christmas holiday since 2019 that the border with mainland China is open, and demand is strong, with seat capacity back to pre-Covid levels as we head into 2024.”
The airport has also offered a $250,000 monthly incentive pool to be shared among ground handling companies that deliver bags to carousels faster at baggage reclaim in the international terminal. This scheme is despite ground handlers being contracted by airlines not the airport.
Brisbane has crafted an extensive entertainment program across both terminals with roving Santas and acrobatic reindeer, as well as performances from Opera Queensland, Queensland Ballet and the Brisbane Philharmonic Orchestra.
Qantas has more than a dozen aircraft on standby throughout the summer including a dedicated Airbus A380 to provide an extra buffer in the event of disruptions, as well as boost to the number of standby staff.
“It’s always a busy time of year, but this year there are more Australians travelling over the Christmas break than we have seen in years,” Qantas head of operations centre Daniel Dihen said.
“We’ve put a range of measures in place to ensure their travel plans run as smoothly as possible. We have 13 Qantas and Jetstar aircraft on standby, including an A380, and we’ve boosted our standby staffing levels so we can respond quickly to any disruptions.”
Virgin Australia has launched Christmas-themed menus on board and in domestic lounges, including Roast turkey with cranberry sauce and a Christmas gingerbread tree in business class, while all economy guests will receive a Davidson Plum chocolate. It comes as Virgin avoided potential strike action over the busy period after it struck a pay deal with the Transport Workers’ Union on Thursday.
The nation’s air navigation service provider — Airservices Australia — has key resilience and staffing measures in place to ensure safe, and efficient services to the industry are delivered during the Christmas period. It said more than 70 new ATCs are due to start by the end of June.
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