List of the busiest international air routes in Australia

This is a list of the busiest international air routes in Australia from Australian airports that have scheduled international traffic, namely Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Gold Coast, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.

International routes are flown strictly between one Australian airport to a non-Australian airport. These may include stops in other cities (i.e. Sydney–London via Singapore).

The following figures are calculated by the Australian government Department for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government.

New South Wales

Sydney

No #		To Country & City		To Airport			PAX Sep 2012	PAX Sep 2013	%	Notes
1.		Singapore	Singapore	Singapore Changi Airport	SIN	WSSS	115,523	113,640	1.6
2.		New Zealand	Auckland	Auckland Airport	AKL	NZAA	102,578	107,142	4.4
3.		United States of America	Los Angeles	Los Angeles International Airport	LAX	KLAX	78,918	80,184	1.6
4.		Hong Kong	Hong Kong	Hong Kong International Airport	HKG	VHHH	70,068	74,575	6.4
5.		United Arab Emirates	Dubai	Dubai International Airport	DXB	OMDB	52,075	68,105	30.8
6.	1	Malaysia	Kuala Lumpur	Kuala Lumpur International Airport	KUL	WMKK	44,481	56,766	27.6
7.	1	Thailand	Bangkok	Suvarnabhumi Airport	BKK	VTBS	50,123	47,073	6.1
8.		Fiji	Nadi	Nadi International Airport	NAN	NFFN	42,900	40,693	5.1
9.		United States	Honolulu	Honolulu International Airport	HNL	PHNL	39,467	39,123	0.9
10.	1	United Arab Emirates	Abu Dhabi	Abu Dhabi International Airport	AUH	OMAA	34,242	35,892	4.8
11.	1	New Zealand	Christchurch	Christchurch International Airport	CHC	NZCH	35,175	34,721	1.3
12.	3	China	Shanghai	Pudong International Airport	PVG	ZSPD	29,437	33,014	12.2
13.	1	Indonesia	Denpasar	Ngurah Rai International Airport	DPS	WADD	32,149	32,092	0.2
14.	1	Japan	Tokyo	Narita International Airport	NRT	RJAA	30,943	30,556	1.3
15.	1	United Kingdom	London	Heathrow Airport	LHR	EGLL	30,383	30,272	0.4
16.	1	China	Guangzhou	Baiyun International Airport	CAN	ZGGG	24,037	27,058	12.6
17.	1	South Korea	Seoul	Incheon International Airport	ICN	RKSI	26,003	24,798	4.6
18.		New Zealand	Wellington	Wellington International Airport	WLG	NZWN	23,420	23,552	0.6
19.		United States	San Francisco	San Francisco International Airport	SFO	KSFO	19,869	18,706	5.9
20.		South Africa	Johannesburg	O. R. Tambo International Airport	JNB	FAOR	16,810	16,264	3.2
21.	5	New Zealand	Queenstown	Queenstown International Airport	ZQN	NZQN	10,942	15,343	40.2
22.	3	China	Beijing	Capital International Airport	PEK	ZBAA	11,072	13,547	22.4
23.	4	Philippines	Manila	Ninoy Aquino International Airport	MNL	RPLL	10,604	13,392	26.3
24.	3	United States	Dallas	Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport	DFW	KDFW	13,056	12,731	2.5
25.	2	Canada	Vancouver	Vancouver International Airport	YVR	CYVR	11,574	11,398	1.5
26.	2	Chile	Santiago	Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport	SCL	SCEL	11,141	10,927	1.9
27.	5	Indonesia	Jakarta	Soekarno–Hatta International Airport	CGK	WIII	12,694	10,894	14.2
28.		Vietnam	Ho Chi Minh City	Tan Son Nhat International Airport	SGN	VVTS	9,206	10,029	8.9
29.		United States	New York	John F. Kennedy International Airport	JFK	KJFK	9,028	9,450	4.7
30.		New Caledonia	Noumea	La Tontouta International Airport	NOU	NWWW	8,793	7,716	12.2
31.		Vanuatu	Port Vila	Bauerfield International Airport	VLI	NVVV	7,832	7,409	5.4
32.	2	Taiwan	Taipei	Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport	TPE	RCTP	6,541	6,781	3.7
33.		Thailand	Phuket	Phuket International Airport	HKT	VTSP	7,109	5,548	22.0
34.	new	India	Delhi	Indira Gandhi International Airport	DEL	VIDP	new	5,456	new	[1]
35.		Argentina	Buenos Aires	Ministro Pistarini International Airport	EZE	SAEZ	4,265	4,747	11.3
36.		Samoa	Apia	Faleolo International Airport	APW	NSFA	3,310	3,021	8.7
37.		Canada	Toronto	Pearson International Airport	YYZ	CYYZ	3,047	2,935	3.7
38.		Vietnam	Hanoi	Noi Bai International Airport	HAN	VVNB	2,334	2,863	22.7
39.		Tonga	Nukuʻalofa	Fuaʻamotu International Airport	TBU	NFTF	2,029	1,995	1.7
40.	2	Papua New Guinea	Port Moresby	Jacksons International Airport	POM	AYPY	1,486	1,795	20.8
41.	new	China	Nanjing	Lukou International Airport	NKG	ZSNJ	new	1,760	new	[2]
42.	2	Cook Islands	Rarotonga	Rarotonga International Airport	RAR	NCRG	1,556	1,548	0.5
43.	2	New Zealand	Rotorua	Rotorua International Airport	ROT	NZRO	1,489	1,393	6.4
44.	1	Japan	Osaka	Kansai International Airport	KIX	RJBB	845	526	37.8
45.	13	Germany	Frankfurt	Frankfurt Airport	FRA	EDDF	7,518	0	100.0	[3]
1.		Total International Passengers					1,056,072	1,097,430	3.9	[4]

Northern Territory

Darwin

No #		To Country & City		To Airport			PAX Nov 2014	PAX Nov 2015	%	Notes
1.		Singapore	Singapore	Changi Airport	SIN	WSSS	8,473	8,434	0.5
2.		Indonesia	Denpasar	Ngurah Rai International Airport	DPS	WADD	9,510	7,494	21.2
3.		Malaysia	Kuala Lumpur	Kuala Lumpur International Airport	KUL	WMKK	2,402	1,819	24.3
4.		Philippines	Manila	Ninoy Aquino International Airport	MNL	RPLL	1,436	894	37.7
8.		Total International Passengers					21,821	18,641	14.6	[4]

Queensland

Brisbane

No #		To Country & City		To Airport			PAX May 2014	PAX May 2015	%	Notes
1.		New Zealand	Auckland	Auckland Airport	AKL	NZAA	66,149	73,850	11.6
2.		Singapore	Singapore	Changi Airport	SIN	WSSS	58,858	59,351	0.8
3.	1	United States of America	Los Angeles	Los Angeles International Airport	LAX	KLAX	28,642	34,380	20.0	[5]
4.	1	United Arab Emirates	Dubai	Dubai International Airport	DXB	OMDB	30,228	32,407	7.2
5.		Hong Kong	Hong Kong	Hong Kong International Airport	HKG	VHHH	24,339	26,560	9.1
6.		Indonesia	Denpasar	Ngurah Rai International Airport	DPS	WADD	21,147	20,511	3.0
7.	3	Papua New Guinea	Port Moresby	Jacksons International Airport	POM	AYPY	13,872	15,967	15.1
8.	1	Fiji	Nadi	Nadi International Airport	NAN	NFFN	15,339	15,252	0.6
9.	1	New Zealand	Christchurch	Christchurch International Airport	CHC	NZCH	15,030	15,045	0.1
10.	1	New Zealand	Wellington	Wellington International Airport	WLG	NZWN	14,322	14,483	1.1
12.	5	United States of America	Honolulu	Honolulu International Airport	HNL	PHNL	5,787	10,497	84.0	[6]
13.	2	Malaysia	Kuala Lumpur	Kuala Lumpur International Airport	KUL	WMKK	10,747	10,497	2.3
14.	2	Thailand	Bangkok	Suvarnabhumi Airport	BKK	VTBS	8,393	9,335	11.2
15.	2	Taiwan	Taipei	Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport	TPE	RCTP	7,453	8,501	14.1
16.	1	China	Guangzhou	Baiyun International Airport	CAN	ZGGG	6,328	7,665	21.1
17.	1	South Korea	Seoul	Incheon International Airport	ICN	RKSI	6,217	5,974	3.9
18.	4	United Arab Emirates	Abu Dhabi	Abu Dhabi International Airport	AUH	OMAA	6,652	5,808	12.7
19.	2	Solomon Islands	Honiara	Honiara International Airport	HIR	AGGH	3,617	3,878	7.2
20.		New Zealand	Dunedin	Dunedin International Airport	DUD	NZDN	3,720	3,611	2.9
21.	3	Vanuatu	Port Vila	Bauerfield International Airport	VLI	NVVV	5,021	3,488	30.5
22.	1	New Caledonia	Noumea	La Tontouta International Airport	NOU	NWWW	2,784	3,106	11.6
23.	2	New Zealand	Queenstown	Queenstown Airport	ZQN	NZQN	1,705	2,342	37.4
24.		Philippines	Manila	Ninoy Aquino International Airport	MNL	RPLL	2,178	1,877	13.8
25.	3	Nauru	Nauru	Nauru International Airport	INU	ANYN	3,147	1,318	58.1
26.		Samoa	Apia	Faleolo International Airport	APW	NSFA	1,238	1,262	1.9
27.		Vanuatu	Luganville	Santo-Pekoa International Airport	SON	NVSS	423	388	8.3
28.	9	United States of America	Dallas	Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport	DFW	KDFW	4,113	0	100.0	[7]
3.		Total International Passengers					367,449	387,506	5.5	[4]

Cairns

No #		To Country & City		To Airport			PAX Nov 2014	PAX Nov 2015	%	Notes
1.		Japan	Tokyo	Narita International Airport	NRT	RJAA	12,066	15,676	29.9
2.		Japan	Osaka	Kansai International Airport	KIX	RJBB	8,876	10,586	19.3
3.		Papua New Guinea	Port Moresby	Jacksons International Airport	POM	AYPY	6,212	7,805	25.6
4.		Hong Kong	Hong Kong	Hong Kong International Airport	HKG	VHHH	5,365	5,543	3.3
5.	new	Singapore	Singapore	Singapore Changi Airport	SIN	WSSS	new	3,175	new	[8]
6.	new	Indonesia	Denpasar	Ngurah Rai International Airport	DPS	WADD	new	1,871	new	[9]
7.	1	New Zealand	Auckland	Auckland Airport	AKL	NZAA	256	247	3.5	[10]
8.	3	Guam	Hagåtña	Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport	GUM	PGUM	1,255	0	100.0	[11]
9.	2	Papua New Guinea	Rabaul	Rabaul Airport	RAB	AYTK	135	0	100.0
7.		Total International Passengers					34,165	44,903	31.4	[4]

Gold Coast

#		From			To			Passengers (Nov)		% Change	#		Passengers (YTD)^1		% Change	Notes
		Country	City / Airport		State	City / Airport		2014	2015				2014	2015
1.		New Zealand	Auckland	NZAA	QLD	Gold Coast	YBCG	23,419	22,599	3.5	1.		265,005	260,533	1.7
2.		Malaysia	Kuala Lumpur	WMKK	QLD	Gold Coast	YBCG	17,012	13,777	19.0	2.		193,209	144,284	25.3
3.	1	Singapore	Singapore	WSSS	QLD	Gold Coast	YBCG	8,937	11,683	30.7	4.		109,226	115,720	5.9
4.	1	Japan	Tokyo	RJAA	QLD	Gold Coast	YBCG	13,346	10,110	24.2	3.		125,144	139,563	11.5
5.		New Zealand	Christchurch	NZCH	QLD	Gold Coast	YBCG	6,570	5,735	12.7	5.		78,956	76,751	2.8
6.	new	New Zealand	Wellington	NZWN	QLD	Gold Coast	YBCG	new	3,886	new	6.	new	new	38,950	new	[12]
7.	new	China	Wuhan	ZHHH	QLD	Gold Coast	YBCG	new	3,708	new	9.	new	new	8,482	new	[13]
8.	new	New Zealand	Queenstown	NZQN	QLD	Gold Coast	YBCG	new	3,331	new	7.	new	new	35,419	new	[12]
9.	new	Fiji	Nadi	NFFN	QLD	Gold Coast	YBCG	new	3,329	new	8.	new	new	26,553	new	[14]
10.		Japan	Osaka	RJBB	QLD	Gold Coast	YBCG	0	0		10.	4	25,172	0	100.0	[15]
Total International Passengers								69,284	78,158	12.8			796,712	846,255	6.2	[4]

Townsville

No #		To Country & City		To Airport			PAX Nov 2014	PAX Nov 2015	%	Notes
1.	new	Indonesia	Denpasar	Ngurah Rai International Airport	DPS	WADD	new	1,299	new	[16]
10.	new	Total International Passengers					new	1,299	new	[4]

South Australia

Adelaide

No #		To Country & City		To Airport			PAX Jan 2015	PAX Jan 2016	%	Notes
1.	1	Singapore	Singapore	Singapore Changi Airport	SIN	WSSS	20,891	22,079	5.6
2.	1	UAE	Dubai	Dubai International Airport	DXB	OMDB	19,710	19,642	0.3
3.	1	Indonesia	Denpasar	Ngurah Rai International Airport	DPS	WADD	13,315	15,857	19.0
4.	2	Hong Kong	Hong Kong	Hong Kong International Airport	HKG	VHHH	7,430	9,863	32.7
5.	4	Malaysia	Kuala Lumpur	Kuala Lumpur International Airport	KUL	WMKK	21,553	8,734	59.4	[17][18]
6.	1	New Zealand	Auckland	Auckland Airport	AKL	NZAA	8,242	8,252	0.1
Total International Passengers							91,141	84,427	7.3	[4]

Victoria

Melbourne

No #		To Country & City		To Airport			PAX May 2014	PAX May 2015	%	Notes
1.		Singapore	Singapore	Singapore Changi Airport	SIN	WSSS	87,494	87,451	0.1
2.		New Zealand	Auckland	Auckland Airport	AKL	NZAA	76,175	86,739	13.9
3.		Malaysia	Kuala Lumpur	Kuala Lumpur International Airport	KUL	WMKK	67,490	54,899	18.7
4.		Hong Kong	Hong Kong	Hong Kong International Airport	HKG	VHHH	47,191	52,254	10.7
5.	2	Indonesia	Denpasar	Ngurah Rai International Airport	DPS	WADD	34,777	47,007	35.2
6.	1	United Arab Emirates	Dubai	Dubai International Airport	DXB	OMDB	43,776	45,616	4.2
7.	1	United States of America	Los Angeles	Los Angeles International Airport	LAX	KLAX	39,573	40,716	2.9
8.		Thailand	Bangkok	Suvarnabhumi Airport	BKK	VTBS	22,116	25,832	16.8
9.		New Zealand	Christchurch	Christchurch International Airport	CHC	NZCH	18,968	19,404	2.3
10.		China	Guangzhou	Baiyun International Airport	CAN	ZGGG	17,387	18,734	7.7
11.	2	China	Shanghai	Pudong International Airport	PVG	ZSPD	16,178	18,137	12.1
12.	2	New Zealand	Wellington	Wellington International Airport	WLG	NZWN	14,414	18,132	25.8
13.	2	United Arab Emirates	Abu Dhabi	Abu Dhabi International Airport	AUH	OMAA	16,933	15,876	6.2
14.	2	Qatar	Doha	Doha International Airport	DOH	OTBD	16,197	15,761	2.7
15.		Fiji	Nadi	Nadi International Airport	NAN	NFFN	13,580	13,811	6.5
16.	1	Vietnam	Ho Chi Minh City	Tan Son Nhat International Airport	SGN	VVTS	9,266	9,906	6.9
17.	1	Brunei	Bandar Seri Begawan	Brunei International Airport	BWN	WBSB	9,078	9,595	5.7
18.	2	United Kingdom	London	Heathrow Airport	LHR	EGLL	10,316	8,977	12.9
19.		Japan	Tokyo	Narita International Airport	NRT	RJAA	6,331	7,631	20.5
20.		Thailand	Phuket	Phuket International Airport	HKT	VTSP	6,018	7,382	22.7
21.		United States	Honolulu	Honolulu International Airport	HNL	PHNL	4,896	7,023	43.4
22.	1	Philippines	Manila	Ninoy Aquino International Airport	MNL	RPLL	4,416	5,367	21.6
23.	3	China	Chengdu	Shuangliu International Airport	CTU	ZUUU	2,854	4,672	63.7
24.	2	India	Delhi	Indira Gandhi International Airport	DEL	VIDP	4,436	4,443	0.2
25.	1	Indonesia	Jakarta	Soekarno–Hatta International Airport	CGK	WIII	3,815	3,799	0.4
26.	1	New Zealand	Queenstown	Queenstown International Airport	ZQN	NZQN	3,132	3,242	3.5
27.		China	Beijing	Capital International Airport	PEK	ZBAA	2,686	2,646	1.5
28.	new	New Caledonia	Nouméa	La Tontouta International Airport	NOU	NWWW	new	1,430	new	[19]
2.		Total International Passengers					599,493	636,482	6.2	[4]

Western Australia

Perth

No #		To Country & City		To Airport			PAX Nov 2014	PAX Nov 2015	%	Notes
1.		Singapore	Singapore	Singapore Changi Airport	SIN	WSSS	77,920	93,376	19.8	[20]
2.		Indonesia	Denpasar	Ngurah Rai International Airport	DPS	WADD	71,815	50,460	29.7	[21][22]
3.		Malaysia	Kuala Lumpur	Kuala Lumpur International Airport	KUL	WMKK	37,108	36,782	0.9
4.		United Arab Emirates	Dubai	Dubai International Airport	DXB	OMDB	35,089	34,000	3.1
5.		Hong Kong	Hong Kong	Hong Kong International Airport	HKG	VHHH	17,598	19,096	8.5
6.		New Zealand	Auckland	Auckland Airport	AKL	NZAA	14,926	18,127	21.4
7.		Qatar	Doha	Doha International Airport	DOH	OTBD	12,154	14,795	21.7
8.	1	United Arab Emirates	Abu Dhabi	Abu Dhabi International Airport	AUH	OMAA	10,697	12,374	15.7
9.	1	South Africa	Johannesburg	O. R. Tambo International Airport	JNB	FAOR	12,006	10,153	15.4
10.		Thailand	Bangkok	Suvarnabhumi Airport	BKK	VTBS	7,881	10,079	27.9
11.	2	China	Guangzhou	Baiyun International Airport	CAN	ZGGG	4,361	5,204	19.3
12.		Thailand	Phuket	Phuket International Airport	HKT	VTSP	4,602	4,791	4.1
13.	2	Indonesia	Jakarta	Soekarno–Hatta International Airport	CGK	WIII	4,966	4,278	13.8
14.		Mauritius	Mauritius	Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport	MRU	FIMP	3,301	3,550	7.5
15.		Malaysia	Kota Kinabalu	Kota Kinabalu International Airport	BKI	WBKK	912	905	0.8
4.		Total International Passengers					315,336	317,970	0.8	[4]

Port Hedland

No #		To Country & City		To Airport			PAX Nov 2014	PAX Nov 2015	%	Notes
1.	new	Indonesia	Denpasar	Ngurah Rai International Airport	DPS	WADD	new	239	new
4.		Total International Passengers					new	239	new	[4]

Airport Rank

Rank #	State/City	Airport		Passengers Nov 2014	Passengers Nov 2015 [4]	% Change	Passengers YTD 2014^1	Passengers YTD 2015^1	% Change
1. ()	Sydney	Sydney Airport	YSSY	1,088,600	1,147,684	5.4	6,199,077	6,503,269	4.9
2. ()	Melbourne	Melbourne Airport	YMML	664,073	736,825	10.9	3,470,624	3,823,010	10.1
3. ()	Brisbane	Brisbane Airport	YBBN	405,203	413,350	2.0	2,186,294	2,324,314	6.3
4. ()	Perth	Perth Airport	YPPH	315,336	317,970	0.8	1,850,216	1,989,717	7.5
5. (1)	Gold Coast	Gold Coast Airport	YBCG	69,284	78,158	12.8	796,712	846,255	6.2
6. (1)	Adelaide	Adelaide Airport	YPAD	68,976	60,841	11.8	879,056	791,299	9.9
7. ()	Cairns	Cairns International Airport	YBCS	34,165	44,903	31.4	235,721	213,214	9.5
8. ()	Darwin	Darwin International Airport	YPDN	21,821	18,641	14.6	149,985	155,594	3.7
9. (new)	Townsville	Townsville Airport	YBTL	new	1,229	new	840	461	45.1
10. ()	Norfolk Island	Norfolk Island Airport	YSNF	1,079	1,135	5.2	5,567	6,010	7.9
11. (new)	Port Hedland	Port Hedland International Airport	YPPD	new	239	new	5,567	6,010	7.9
Total International Passengers				2,668,537	2,820,975	5.7	14,890,501	15,922,033	6.9

Notes

• ^1 YTD = Year To Date. January 1 to end of Specific Month listed above for each year.

See also

• List of the busiest air routes in Australia by passenger traffic for Domestic data only.

Notes

1. Air India to fly Boeing 787 to Sydney, Melbourne from August
2. Sydney Airport welcomes China Eastern Nanjing route
3. Qantas bids farewell to Frankfurt
4. International Airline Activity—Monthly Publications
5. "Virgin Australia announces changes to Los Angeles services, with daily Brisbane flights". Virgin Australia. 23 July 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
6. "Jetstar to launch Brisbane-Honolulu flights". Australian Business Traveller. 2 April 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
7. "Qantas begins Airbus A380 flights to Dallas". Australian Business Traveller. 29 September 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
8. "Silkair to start new Cairns flights from May". Australian Aviation. 5 November 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
9. "Jetstar to add direct link between Cairns and Bali". The Sydney Morning Herald. 17 December 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
10. "Air New Zealand Converts Auckland–Cairns to Seasonal Service in 2014". Airline Route. 24 April 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
11. "United to end Cairns-Guam route". Australian Aviation. 24 July 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
12. "Jetstar launches two Tasman routes from the Gold Coast". Jetstar. 9 September 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
13. "Jetstar launches 787 Gold Coast – China service". AirlineHubBuzz. 5 May 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
14. "Jetstar says it will fly Gold Coast-Fiji direct from next year". GoldCoastBulletin. 23 December 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
15. "Jetstar launches Melbourne-Tokyo flights, axes Gold Coast-Osaka". Australian Business Traveller. 11 December 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
16. "Jetstar begins Townsville to Bali flights September 2". TownsvilleBulletin. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
17. "MAS drops Brisbane and cuts frequencies to Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide in latest round of network changes". Australian Aviation. 25 July 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
18. "AirAsia X cuts direct flights to Adelaide because of financial pressure". The Advertiser. 5 December 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
19. "Melbourne Airport welcomes AirCalin". Melbourne Airport. 11 June 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
20. "Qantas resurrects Perth to Singapore flights after a year suspension". WAtoday.com.au. 26 June 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
21. "Virgin, Jetstar cancel all Bali flights after Mt Rinjani ash cloud creates 'unsafe' flying conditions". www.abc.net.au. 7 November 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
22. "Virgin cancels all Bali flights due to returning ash cloud". Sydney Morning Herald. 27 November 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2016.

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