Melbourne Airport exceeds 27 million annual passengers for the first time

International passengers for October 2010 increased by 14.3 per cent over October 2009 to reach
532,046 passengers - an additional 66,514 international passengers through Melbourne Airport.
The strong international passenger performance was driven primarily by growth to and from Asia out of Melbourne. Malaysian passport holders were up 42.7 per cent, Thailand up 41.9 per cent, Taiwan up 27.3 per cent, India up 14.6 per cent and China up 14.5 per cent.

Traditional markets also experienced growth, with passport holders from New Zealand up 8.3 per cent, United Kingdom up 8.3 per cent and United States up 3.9 per cent.

International travel by Australian passport holders continued to increase, up by 16.0 per cent from
October last year, as Australians continued to take advantage of low fares, a strong Australian dollar and solid economic conditions.

Domestic passengers increased by 9.6 per cent, or an additional 172,092 passengers, over the same period to reach 1,968,009 passengers.

Melbourne Airport CEO Chris Woodruff said the high passenger growth was due to the strength of
Victoria as a leading tourism, business and education destination and the airport’s key cost and
operational advantages.

“As Australia’s major events capital, Melbourne boasts a strong calendar of sporting and cultural events. Melbourne’s reputation for shopping, theatre, world-class food experiences and regional drawcards such as the Great Ocean Road, one of Australia’s key tourist attractions, booming wineries and wine tourism make Victoria a premier Australian tourism destination,” he said.

“Australia’s strongest and most resilient economy during 2009/10, Melbourne is the nation’s business
centre and home to 5 of Australia’s Top 10 companies. Melbourne is also Australia’s business events
capital, with the largest exhibition and convention centre in the Southern Hemisphere, playing host to
more and more significant international events.”
“Melbourne and our airport are currently on show to the world’s airlines as we host the 127th
International Air Transport Association (IATA) Schedules Conference for more than 1100 airline
delegates.”

“Travel to Victoria is also boosted by Melbourne’s strong standing as a Global University City.”

“More airlines are flying to Melbourne Airport due to our 24 hour curfew free operations, highly
competitive pricing, single terminal precinct and proximity to the CBD.”

“Looking forward, both China Southern and China Eastern will be increasing to daily services this
month, with Air China increasing to daily services in December. Jetstar will be introducing daily services to Singapore and is commencing services to Auckland and Queenstown from December.

We also look forward to welcoming Air India and Royal Brunei Airlines to Melbourne as they launch services in the coming months.”

"Melbourne Airport is committed to the future of Victorian tourism. We are investing in our aviation
capacity with our $330m international terminal expansion and accelerating other infrastructure projects to accommodate the record growth we see continuing ahead.”

“Over the next five years Melbourne Airport will invest $1 billion in capital works projects to cater for its rapidly growing market and remain ahead of demand.”

“We would like to thank our airline customers for their continued support of the Melbourne market.”

Asian passport holder growth for the month of October 2010:

Country of origin % growth
China                      14.5
India                       14.6
Japan                       9.3
Malaysia                  42.7
Philippines               13.3
South Korea               8.1
Sri Lanka                 10.6
Taiwan                     27.3
Thailand                  41.9