Easter travel sets new passenger record at Townsville Airport

Townsville Airport’s latest passenger data has revealed last month was its busiest April in history, with 144,941 travellers passing through the terminal. 

The bumper month smashed the previous April record set back in 2012, by more than 6,300 thousand additional passengers. 

Queensland Airports Limited’s Chief of Aviation Adam Rowe said the strong result was driven by increased capacity on key markets and strong demand over the school holiday period. 

“We’ve been working closely with our airline partners to advocate for increased connectivity for the North Queensland region and over the past 12 months we have seen a number of new aircraft allocated to the Townsville market,” Mr Rowe said. 

“Since this time last year Virgin Australia, QantasLink and Jetstar have all ungauged their aircraft on key markets including Brisbane and Melbourne. 

“On the Brisbane route for example, which is our busiest, this April there were more than 15,000 additional seats available than the same period last year.  

"Queensland and New South Wales school holidays also overlapped this year which drove a spike in travel demand between Good Friday and 19 April when more than 82,000 travellers passed through the terminal.” 

“These strong results show how continued investment in marketing across key markets, in partnership with Townsville Enterprise Limited and Townsville City Council, is helping attract more visitors, while strong economic conditions and business activity in Townsville continue to drive demand for outbound travel.”

Townsville Enterprise Director of Visitor Economy and Marketing Lisa Woolfe said the record-breaking result showed growing confidence in Townsville North Queensland a holiday destination.  

“Seeing Townsville Airport achieve its busiest April on record is a fantastic result for our region and a strong indicator of continued growth in the tourism industry,” Ms Woolfe said. 

“At the same time as these record airport visitor numbers, we’ve also seen over 40% increase in visitor spend and 9% increase in accommodation occupancy for the month of April compared to last year.” 

“These results are a strong indicator of our tourism season extending beyond the peaks seen in winter and this should bring a boost of confidence to our industry.”  

“More airline seats into Townsville provides benefits across accommodation, hospitality, tours, attractions, retail and local businesses right across the region, and we love to see that.” 

Mr Rowe said that while April was a strong month, airlines are operating in a challenging environment, with global uncertainty pushing fuel costs higher.   

“We’re continuing to work closely with our airline partners to support their networks and look for opportunities to maintain and grow services in a sustainable way.  

“This recent data shows passengers continue to prioritise travel to and from Townsville, and as we head into the busier winter months, we typically see that demand increase.”