The CEO of Melbourne Airport says the vaccine rollout in Australia must “increase significantly” after reporting a major decline in traffic in July

Melbourne Airport’s July traffic numbers saw a 85.7 per cent drop compared to pre-pandemic levels.

The international hub welcomed just over 467,000 people in July, almost all of them being domestic travellers.

Chief of Aviation of Lorie Argus says the mood at the airport right now at the terminal is dull.

Melbourne Airport’s passenger traffic for the last financial year dropped to its lowest level since 1984

Argus says the airport is supportive of the Australian Government’s four stage plan back to freedom, however stressed further devastation will be felt to airlines and airports themselves if lockdowns and travel restrictions continue in the short term.

Airports hit heavy – not just airlines

In an interview with ticker NEWS, Argus says that all levels of the travel market continue to be left devastated by changes to COVID rules, but highlighted an important notice – airports are struggling too.

Argus says airports continue to face financial losses due to the decline in traffic through terminals.

The Chief of Aviation says that unlike airlines “airports must continue and keep the lights on” – highlighting that hubs around the globe must continue to keep the doors open regardless of passenger numbers, and mostly that’s due to having to cater for freighter flights.

The business’ chief executive, Lyell Strambi, says it was now a matter of “urgent and critical national interest” to address the country’s vaccine supply challenges.

According to reports, passenger numbers for FY20-21 at Melbourne Airport was just 6.1 million. Domestic numbers made up the bulk of passengers – 5,939,368 – but that number alone was a 68.8 per cent decline on FY19-20. International numbers of 230,455 represented a 97.2 per cent drop on the same time last year.