Passenger numbers are sky high

THE number of passengers flying through Townsville Airport are the highest in more than two years with passengers almost returning to pre-pandemic levels.

Queensland Airports Limited CEO Chris Mills said 131,766 people passed through the terminal in April with most flying between Townsville and Brisbane.

“It has been a gradual process and we are now seeing around the same numbers we saw before the pandemic,” Mr Mills said.

In January the airport recorded 55 per cent of pre-pandemic levels with this jumping to 68 per cent in February, 81 per cent in March, and 95 per cent in April.

“This shows how traveller confidence has been increasing since the start of the year and is fantastic news for North Queensland tourism operators,” Mr Mills said.

More than half of the passengers counted were travelling between Townsville and Brisbane, but Townsville-melbourne became the second most popular route in the month.

The current airport terminal works are scheduled to be completed next month when the upgrade to the existing airside cafe and news and gifts store is finished.

Federal government funds totalling $9.15m were critical for the security screening and check-in component of the works.