Travel boom pushes airports up IBISWorld’s Top 500

Airports are reaping the benefits of stronger passenger numbers as travellers shrug off the cost-of-living crisis, new data from IBISWorld shows.

Airports around the country grew their revenue in fiscal 2024 as passenger numbers surged. Picture: NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

Business and leisure travel are back in full force and Australian private companies, including airports around the country, are reaping the benefits as travellers shun cost-of-living woes.

Australian private companies operating in the travel and accommodation industries are among those that made IBISWorld’s Top 500 Australian-owned private companies, partnerships, co-operatives, associations and non-listed public companies.

Seven companies under the Airport Operations label made the list, with combined annual revenue topping $4.6bn, as passenger numbers recovered through the year. Melbourne Airport was top of the lot, in 68th place on the list as annual revenue jumped 10 per cent to $1.2bn.

Indeed, all airport operators jumped up the rankings this year, as all bar one saw revenue climb at least 10 per cent. Melbourne, one of the nation’s busiest airports, saw more than 35 million people pass through its terminals in the 12 months to the end of June, up from 20 million the year before, as demand for air travel continued to grow.

Melbourne Airport chief executive Lorie Argus said there had been a continued trajectory of growth post-Covid.

“The past year has been one of steady growth. We have almost returned to pre-pandemic levels as well as continued to work hard to introduce new airlines, new routes, more capacity and more choice for travellers,” she said.

“We became the first capital city airport in the nation to exceed pre-pandemic international capacity and we have seen huge growth in markets such as Vietnam and India thanks to liberalised bilateral agreements allowing existing airlines to expand operations while also enabling new airlines to enter the market.”

Canberra Airport was next highest on the list at 78 following an 11 per cent jump in revenue to an estimated $1bn, while Brisbane Airport rounded out the top three, placing at 82.

Brisbane saw further recovery in passenger numbers in fiscal 2024, with 22.6 million people making their way through the airport, bringing it back to 95 per cent of pre-Covid passenger levels as international travel surged 39 per cent through the year.

Much of the international growth in Brisbane was due to Jetstar ramping up its routes, with a 149 per cent lift in international passengers following the launch of flights to Tokyo, Osaka and Seoul, as well as growth in services to Auckland.

More than 16 million passengers travelled through Perth Airport, placing it in 118th spot. This was followed by Adelaide Airport in 324th place, Queensland Airports at 367 and the Northern Territory’s Airport Development Group at 491.