More than half a million people have travelled through Gold Coast Airport in April – the highest number in a single month since January 2020 – after consecutive long weekends supercharged the domestic travel recovery.

Off the back of the busiest Easter weekend on record, passenger numbers for the month will come close to the 570,104 number who flew in and out of the Gold Coast for the Commonwealth Games in April 2018 – the airport’s busiest April on record.  

Queensland Airports Limited CEO Chris Mills said the long-awaited return to pre-COVID-19 passenger numbers had finally arrived, with a daily average of more than 18,000 passengers in the month.

“This is fantastic news for tourism operators on the Gold Coast and in northern NSW,” he said.

“Easter and the subsequent long weekends have allowed Australians to start holidaying again and reunite with loved ones around the country.”

Mr Mills said the momentum was set to continue into early May, with between 65 and 70 return flights a day scheduled this weekend.

“The airport will be busy again between Friday and Monday, as people take advantage of another long weekend,” he said.

Mr Mills said the region had bounced back strongly as people started traveling again.

“This demonstrates the strength of the destination and pent-up demand for travel following two years of restrictions,” he said.

“The next busy period will be the June-July school holidays when more trans-Tasman connections will be in place, with flights between Gold Coast and Christchurch, Wellington and Queenstown all returning soon.”

Construction of the 30,000sq m Gold Coast Airport terminal expansion – which will double the footprint of the existing terminal and add aerobridges – is progressing well and will open later in 2022. This project will deliver a fresh, modern experience for international and domestic passengers flying in and out of the Gold Coast and northern NSW – and make way for more people to be welcomed into the region.