Newcastle Airport welcomed a record 1.276 million passengers in 2017, further cementing its position as one of Australia’s most significant regional airports.
Customer satisfaction is also at an all-time high, with results from a recent global airport benchmarking survey ranking Newcastle Airport number one in 18 of 31 categories across Australia and New Zealand.
Newcastle Airport CEO, Peter Cock said 2018 is looking like a strong year for Newcastle’s regional airport.
“Less than one month into the new year and we have already kicked some major goals with yet another year of record passengers, debuting a new Adelaide direct domestic route and now being the most highly ranked airport across Australia and New Zealand by our passengers,” Peter said.
Passengers passing through Newcastle Airport in the 2017 calendar year increased by 4.9%year-on-year, with the growth attributed to a thriving mix of business and leisure travellers.
“This is a significant achievement and proof of the importance of Newcastle Airport as a significant economic enabler for our region,” Peter said.
“We are excited about the groundswell of support shown by our travelling community, and want to let people know we will continue to advocate and work with our airline partners for increased connectivity to and from Newcastle Airport.”
The recent numbers were boosted by 25 consecutive months of growth, most recently a 3.7%year-on-year increase in passengers for the month of December.
“When comparing domestic growth figures of other airports around the country, we are performing really well. Newcastle Airport is rapidly rising; we broke the 1.25 million passenger mark at the start of this financial year and now, six months later we are once again soaring,” Peter said.
“Not only are we well patronised, but our passengers are rating us as the best in Australia and New Zealand in areas such as check-in, way finding, security and airport facilities.”
Newcastle Airport ranked overall first in 18 of 31 categories when compared against 13 other participating airports in Australia and New Zealand in the Airport Service Quality (ASQ)survey. The categories included check-in, finding your way, airport facilities, airport environment, security and overall satisfaction.
The world-renowned global benchmarking passenger survey measures passengers’airport experience whilst the passenger is at the airport. It is used in 84 countries and is available in 40 languages.
“This is a huge achievement for all airport staff,tenants and stakeholders involved in the day-to-day operations of Newcastle Airport. Without the hard work, commitment and outstanding customer service that we provide to our patrons,these results would not be possible. This all points to a fantastic 2018 for Newcastle Airport and we will run hard at delivering our promise of becoming the airport the region deserves,” Peter said.
