The highest number of passengers since February 2020 were welcomed by the Townsville Airport team in April, with more than 100,000 people coming through the terminal – or about 80 per cent of pre-COVID-19 levels.

QAL CEO Chris Mills said two months of strong passenger growth had pushed the airport closer to pre-COVID-19 flight capacity.

“Numbers have been growing on the Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne routes through March and into April, with open domestic borders encouraging a return to air travel,” he said.

“We have some way to go to recover from the past 12 months but this sustained growth is a real positive for North Queensland, after more than a year of challenging operating conditions.”

Mr Mills said the Federal Government’s Tourism Aviation Network Support scheme had also delivered benefits for the destination, increasing consumer confidence and providing half-price tickets for more than 4,500 travellers.

The increasing numbers come ahead of work starting mid-year on an upgrade and expansion of the security screening zone in the Townsville Airport terminal.  

The priority project will accommodate upgraded security screening equipment required by the Federal Government.

Mr Mills said the tender for the project would be awarded soon, allowing work to start in the middle of the year.

“The team has been working hard to progress this project and the awarding of the contract will be the next major step forward,” he said.

“This project is a key element of the overall terminal redevelopment.”

The project also includes the installation of two new back-of-house units for checked baggage screening and the relocation of 10 check-in desks.

The project will be funded through the Federal Government’s Regional Airports Screening Infrastructure Fund.

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