The graph below tells us the story of what has happened to international flights* since pre-COVID times (2019) up to a few months ago (September 2022). Before COVID, passengers being carried averaged around 3.5 million per month, peaking at a bit over 4 million around the Christmas holiday time. COVID restrictions put in place in early 2020 caused passenger volumes to plummet to close to zero.
As I’ve reported on previously, in the period from May to August 2021, it was very challenging to get a flight to Australia without a business or first-class ticket. From November 2021 until our latest data, passenger volumes have dramatically increased. As of September 2022, the volume of passengers on international flights has been around two million per month. This is just a bit over half the volume compared to pre-COVID levels.
Therefore, if you’ve been trying to get a flight to Australia since lockdown, you should feel confident that your flight should not be cancelled, even with an economy ticket.
To learn more, go to the Australian Government’s bitre website.
* We must remember that the volume of passengers includes those both flying in and out of Australia.
