Sydney Airport Traffic Performance August 2023

This is the second month in a row that the international passenger recovery has been stronger than the domestic.

A total of 1.23 million travellers passed through Sydney Airport's T1 international terminal in August, which is an 89.7 per cent recovery rate on August 2019.

The domestic passenger recovery rate was 88.0 per cent in August, with 2.02 million passengers coming through the T2 and T3 domestic terminals.

U.S. visitor numbers hit a milestone in August

For the first month since the international border reopened, the number of U.S. visitors has inched above pre-pandemic levels, with a 1 per cent increase on August 2019 numbers.

Two notable international markets experiencing a surge in visitor numbers are South Korea and Vietnam.

The number of South Korean passport holders was up 44 per cent on August 2019 levels, with strong capacity on the Seoul-Sydney route boosting tourism between the two countries.

The number of Vietnamese passport holders coming through Sydney Airport was 29 per cent higher compared to August 2019, with four airlines now flying return flights from Sydney to Vietnam, two more than pre-pandemic.

Sydney Airport CEO, Geoff Culbert, said the domestic recovery remains flat while the international recovery is pressing ahead.

"Recent boosts to capacity from some of our international airlines has led to a surge in overseas visitors, especially from countries like South Korea, the Philippines and Vietnam, where the numbers are now higher than in 2019."

"The Vietnamese market perfectly illustrates how strong competition and increasing capacity leads to greater demand.

"Leading up to the pandemic, Vietnam was our fastest growing market with two carriers offering direct flights. This growth has accelerated with newcomers, Vietjet and Bamboo Airways, also operating services between Sydney Airport and Ho Chi Mihn City.

"We now have four airlines offering more than 5,000 seats a week to Vietnam and this increase in capacity has boosted tourism for both countries. In August, the number of Vietnamese passport holders flying through Sydney Airport was 29 per cent higher than before the pandemic, which is a terrific result.

"The domestic recovery continues to underwhelm, with the August result 12 per cent below 2019."

Return flights between Sydney Airport and Vietnam

Direct flights to Ho Chi Minh City

• Vietnam Airlines - 7 returns per week
• Vietjet - 4 returns per week
• Jetstar - 3 returns per week
• Bamboo Airways - 2 returns per week

Direct flights to Hanoi

• Vietnam Airlines - 2 returns per week