Melbourne Airport achieves 8% total passenger growth for 2014

Melbourne Airport finished 2014 with strong international passenger growth to reach more than 8 million international passengers for the year, or an increase of 8 per cent compared to 2013.

Melbourne Airport CEO Mr Chris Woodruff said 2014 was a record year for the airport.

“In 2014 we invested a record $680 million in our infrastructure to expand and enhance Victoria’s aviation gateway. During the year, we upgraded passenger facilities, expanded capacity on our airfield, built bigger and better roads and our freight and logistics capabilities are now better than ever. And there’s more to come in 2015, with a number of major projects, including a new domestic terminal, major new road and a new tri-generation power plant all set to come online,” said Mr Woodruff.

“In 2014, we also continued to work closely with our airline customers with more direct flights and capacity introduced for Victorians and visitors.”

North Asia led international growth in 2014 with Japan, Hong Kong, China and Taiwan all growing by more than 15 per cent. Australian passport holders increased by 7 per cent.

“Japan was the stand out in terms of growth in 2014, recording an impressive 53 per cent increase. It follows the introduction of new direct Melbourne-Japan services and is a great example of how travellers will take advantage of more convenient flights.”

Domestic passengers increased by 2 per cent in 2014 compared to 2013, reaching 23,555,173.

“To support Melbourne Airport’s physical transformation, we introduced a new vision that focuses on the customer experience. In 2015, we will continue to focus on delivering that vision,” said Mr Woodruff.

“During 2014 we were proud to receive awards for customer service excellence, safety and innovation from leading industry bodies and are all testaments to a great team effort.”

For the month of December 2014, international passengers increased by 4 per cent and domestic passengers increased by 2 per cent compared to the same month last year.

Australian passport holders increased by 6 per cent.

“The records continued in December as we reached the milestone of more than 100,000 international passengers departing Melbourne Airport in one week. There were also more arriving and departing international passengers in December than any other month,” said Mr Woodruff.