Impact of COVID-19 on flight operations at Brisbane Airport
Aircraft movement numbers
Due to the impacts of COVID-19 there was an overall decrease in aircraft movements at Brisbane Airport. A comparison with the monthly figures for September 2019 shows that jet movements decreased by 67% while turbo-prop movements decreased by 36%.
Aircraft destinations
Due to COVID-19 travel restrictions and border closures most of the operations at Brisbane Airport were intrastate (within Queensland and therefore flying north) and operated by regional carriers who fly turbo-props and small jets.
At the same time there has was a reduction in flights between Brisbane and southern locations such as Sydney and Melbourne and very limited flights arriving from outside of Australia.
The runway management strategy at Brisbane Airport (as consulted with the community) directs aircraft arriving from or departing to the north to use Runway 19R/Runway 01L (the new runway). As a result of more intrastate traffic there was greater use of Runway 19R/01L.
Arrivals
The image above shows pre-COVID levels of aircraft arrivals with traffic arriving from both northern and southern locations to the legacy runway.
The image above shows an overall reduction in levels of aircraft arrivals, with more traffic arriving from northern (intrastate) locations to the new runway (Runway 19R/01L).
Click on the images above to open a larger view in a new tab.
Departures
The image above shows pre-COVID levels of aircraft departures with traffic departing to both northern and southern destinations from the legacy runway.
The image above shows an overall reduction in levels of aircraft departures, with the more traffic departing to northern (intrastate) destinations from the new runway (Runway 19R/01L).
Click on the images above to open a larger view in a new tab.
Aircraft types
Many intrastate operations are serviced by turbo-prop aircraft rather than jet aircraft. Prior to COVID-19 turbo-prop traffic made up 25% of total movements at Brisbane Airport. Due to the reduced number of jet movements turbo-prop traffic became a larger percentage and represented 38% of all aircraft movements at Brisbane Airport.
Arrivals
The image above shows pre-COVID types of aircraft arrivals with the mix of jets and turbo-props.
The image above shows an overall reduction in all types of aircraft arrivals, with a smaller reduction in turbo-props compared to jets.
Click on the images above to open a larger view in a new tab.
Departures
The image above shows pre-COVID types of aircraft departures with the mix of jets and turbo-props.
The image above shows an overall reduction in all types of aircraft departures, with a smaller reduction in turbo-props compared to jets.
Click on the images above to open a larger view in a new tab.
Learn more about turbo-prop operations on our How do turbo-prop aircraft fly? page.
Return to normal operations
Traffic patterns were in a state of flux through to the early part of 2022 due to the impact of COVID-19 on airline operations and schedules.
Since April 2022, we have seen an increase in flights to and from southern destinations (such as Sydney and Melbourne) and the gradual return of international air traffic.
In 2024, we are seeing domestic travel return to pre-COVID levels around the country. International travel, while increasing, remains below 2019 levels. We anticipate the recovery of international travel will continue into 2024.
Note: All tracks during the stated month have been displayed. Track colours have been adjusted to show track density. Where aircraft are more concentrated the colour will appear darker.
