SYDNEY - Sydney Airport said Asian route growth helped offset softer demand on some Europe-bound journeys through the Middle East during the second quarter.
The airport handled 9.96 million passengers in the three months to June, down 0.7% from the same period in 2025, according to its quarterly traffic and operational report announced on August 3. International passenger numbers fell 1.9% to 3.87 million, while domestic traffic was broadly unchanged at 6.09 million.
The quarterly decline followed a strong start to the year. Sydney Airport handled 20.74 million passengers during the first half of 2026, an increase of 1.5% from a year earlier. International traffic rose 2.1% to 8.44 million, supported by a record first quarter in which international passenger numbers increased 5.8% to 4.57 million.
Asian destinations recorded some of the strongest route growth in the second quarter. The airport’s passenger statistics showed traffic between Sydney and Guangzhou rising 50.5% year on year, the largest increase among the 20 destinations listed in its quarterly table.
Passenger numbers on the Kuala Lumpur route grew 14.6%, while Hong Kong increased 14.1%. Seoul and Singapore recorded gains of 8.5% and 8.3%, respectively. The airport said those increases helped counter softer demand on some journeys to Europe through Middle Eastern hubs.
Passenger processing improved at the international terminal, where 99.9% of travellers cleared security within 10 minutes, up from 99.7% a year earlier. Ninety per cent of arriving passengers cleared immigration within 32 minutes, two minutes faster than in the second quarter of 2025.
International on-time departures slipped to 72.9% from 73.4%, while domestic departure punctuality edged up to 81.6% from 81.5%. The airport recorded eight days with international traffic delays exceeding 10 minutes, down from 17 a year earlier.
Sydney Airport said its Asian network would expand further after STARLUX Airlines announced plans to begin direct flights between Sydney and Taipei in 2027. The airport said schedules and other service details were still being finalised.
Chief executive Scott Charlton said the airport’s broad international network gave airlines and passengers more options when travel conditions changed. “The diversity of destinations served from Sydney Airport is one of our greatest strengths.”
