Perth Airport continued its strong passenger growth in the first half of 2007-08 with an increase of 13.3 per cent over the same period in 2006-07.
Perth Airport continued its strong passenger growth in the first half of 2007-08 with an increase of 13.3 per cent over the same period in 2006-07.
A total of 4,579,658 passengers were processed through Perth Airport during this period, an increase of 539,056 passengers on the same period last year.
International passenger growth stood at 16.7 per cent during the period, while domestic passenger growth of 12.1 per cent was recorded.
Perth Airport Chief executive Brad Geatches said the high levels of growth at Perth Airport reflected the continued powerhouse performance of the Western Australian economy.
"The increased wealth provided through Western Australia's sustained economic growth is driving business and consumer demand for aviation services. Airlines have responded by providing more capacity on domestic and international routes, with Qantas, Emirates and Tiger Airlines each adding to the international capacity on Perth routes.
"Perth Airport also serves as a vital infrastructure asset for Western Australia's resources sector. Our partnership with the resources industry goes from strength to strength as we continue to support growth in fly-in fly-out operations."
Mr Geatches said that the strong outlook for the WA economy with its exposure to resources demand from China and north Asia meant that Perth Airport's growth was likely to outperform other major Australian airports for the foreseeable future.
Mr Geatches added that Perth Airport's continued growth was strengthening the business case to initiate a major expansion of airport infrastructure.
"Planning has been underway for some time now to examine options to expand Perth Airport's terminal facilities. We are in discussions with our key airline partners to understand their operational requirements.
"In the meantime, Perth Airport continues to make improvements to existing facilities. More parking has been added to the international and domestic precincts and work is underway to join the two domestic terminals. These works are supported by a $50 million program by Qantas to upgrade its domestic terminal. Perth Airport will also shortly commence a major upgrade to the road network in the domestic precinct."
Mr Geatches said the changes would supplement the major airport expansion and dramatically improve the customer experience over the next few years.