Profits Surge by A$700m at Australia's Largest Airports

DALLAS — The latest Airport Monitoring Report—published by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)—shows that the combined operating profit at Sydney (SYD), Melbourne (MEL), Brisbane (BNE), and Perth (PER) airports grew 38 percent to  A$2.53 billion from total revenue of A$4.8 billion.

Business News Australia reports that operating profits at Australia's four largest airports rose by A$693 million in the 2024 Financial Year, with international passenger growth driving aeronautical revenues. In addition, profit margins from carparks (non-aeronautical revenues) have increased by 60 percent at the four airports.

Though passenger numbers were still below pre-pandemic levels - except PER, each airport reported its highest-ever revenues from aeronautical services paid by airlines. However, total revenue and profit figures were inflated slightly due to back payments from SYD’s 2023 Financial Year. This accounted for more than half of the A$1 billion increase in revenue from aeronautical activities across the four airports.

"The increase in aeronautical revenues in 2023-24 was driven in large part by the continued recovery in international passenger numbers, which rose by 32.1 percent at the four airports monitored in our report,"  ACCC Commissioner Anna Brakey said.

Dominance of Sydney 

In total, 114.6 million passengers moved through the four airports—a figure that is still down 4.7 percent compared with the 2019 Financial Year. Except for significant revenue growth of 42.4 percent (reaching A$1.9 billion) at SYD, BNE saw the most significant revenue growth of 13.9 percent to hit A$979.1 million, followed by MEL, which saw a 13 percent growth to A$1.2 billion.

"Sydney Airport was once again clearly the most profitable of the four major airports for aeronautical services in 2023-24, both in aggregate and on a per-passenger basis," Brakey said.

Increased Domestic Traffic 

That said, the number of passengers traveling on domestic flights within Australia also increased in 2024.  Brakey said that domestic passenger numbers grew by 6.7 percent in 2024.

Despite passenger numbers at PER rising by 10.9 percent compared with pre-pandemic levels, PER was the only airport reporting decreased aeronautical operating profit. This was down 29 percent due to increases in operating costs, particularly security costs.

Non-Aeronautical Revenues 

Depending on the airport, revenue generated from carparks ranges from 7.9 to 15.8 percent. However, carparks at BNE and MEL generated more than 50 cents for every dollar profit from aeronautical services.

“Car parking remains a very profitable business for the monitored airports as they report strong demand for parking,” Brakey said.

Revenues from landside transport services, such as rideshare operators, taxis, and buses, grew by 18 percent to A$69.6 million. The report also notes that all four airports maintained an average overall ‘good’ rating for their quality of service. However, airline ratings fell, resulting in the airports receiving "satisfactory" results. Common airline concerns related to aircraft parking facilities, baggage facilities, user check-in facilities, aerobridges, and public amenities. 

“The airports all maintained their ‘good’ rating for quality of service, which is based on surveys of passengers and airlines, as well as objective measures such as the number of check-in kiosks per passenger,” Brakey said.

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