Launceston Airport has recorded its busiest December ever, with more than 142,000 people passing through the terminal last month.
The airport also set a new record for the most passengers handled in a single day, with 5,954 passengers touching down and taking off on December 22, just surpassing the previous record of 5,947 set on December 30, 2019.
Airport CEO Shane O’Hare said the December figure was up 15% on the same time the year before and marked the fifth consecutive month of exceeding all-time records.
“The pandemic is now in the rear view, we will continue to push ahead attracting new airlines, adding capacity and new routes into the network which will in turn put downward pressure on prices,” he said.
“These numbers reflect a huge 2023 for the airport, as we welcomed our first new airline in more than 15 years, the early return of seasonal direct services to Adelaide and Perth and the completion of a transformative infrastructure project in our check in hall.”
From July 1 to December 31 last year, the airport recorded 682,845 passengers, nearly 8,000 more than the previous record of 675,676 for the same period in 2019.
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“We are expecting 2.5 million passengers through our doors by 2040 and we are building and upgrading infrastructure across the precinct to cater for the future,” O’Hare said.
As a state, Tasmania welcomed 1.26 million visitors in the year ending September 2023, up 31% from the same period the year before.
