A 10.2 per cent year-on-year increase in international passengers headlined a series of key milestones for Melbourne Airport in December 2016. The growth translated to more than 88,000 in absolute passenger numbers, hitting a December record of 952,855 international passengers (arrivals and departures).
December 2016 also saw Melbourne Airport record more than half a million (511,238) international departures in a month for the first time, and a record 18,725 departing passengers in one day.
More than 3.1 million passengers passed through Melbourne Airport in December, making the month the busiest for total passenger movements in 2016. Total passenger movements for the 2016 calendar year grew to 34.6 million, up 4.6 per cent on the 2015 result.
Lyell Strambi, CEO Melbourne Airport says :
“We saw tremendous growth in overall passenger volumes throughout 2016.
“These December results are a great reflection of the work done by Team Victoria to attract new airlines to the Melbourne market.
“It is a testament to the long-term vision of the airport’s designers that we have been able to grow so dramatically over the past decade. The challenge for Melbourne Airport in 2017 is to ensure we enhance our capacity to accommodate even further growth, with forecast passenger volumes that are unprecedented in the history of this vitally important asset.
“Over the next 12 months we will begin extensive work to add an additional baggage reclaim in our international arrivals. This will deliver a much smoother arrivals experience for inbound passengers, particularly during peak periods.
“There’s also plenty of work going on to help get the departing traveller experience right at the same time.
“We’ll be pulling the covers off our reimagined duty free offering in the first half of the year, which will see almost a third more floor space allocated to this important part of the airport retail experience.
“We’ll follow that in the second half when we unveil our new luxury retail precinct in international departures.”
Passenger figures for December 2016:
| PASSENGERS | DECEMBER 2016 | DECEMBER 2015 | GROWTH (%)* |
| International | 952,855 | 864,477 | 10.2 |
| Domestic | 2,188,317 | 2,142,748 | 2.1 |
| Total (excl. transits) | 3,141,172 | 3,007,225 | 4.5 |
*monthly percentage growth compared to December 2015
