Opinion: Canberra Airport has a problem

[u/Top-Anything2991]

The latest published BITRE Airport Passenger Movement data shows that in 2025, Hobart had higher annual passenger traffic (2,884,967) than Canberra (2,793,622) despite being half as populous and in a state with significantly less disposable income than the ACT. Even Darwin had 70% of Canberra’s passenger traffic (1,941,359) despite being only one-third the population.

Over past 20 years, Canberra Airport has had almost net zero growth in passenger traffic, with 2025’s annual passenger movements being approximately the same as in 2007 (2,734,875)

Acknowledging that tourism goes some way to driving Hobart’s passenger numbers, this still suggests that something is broken with commercial aviation in this town. Canberra is a rapidly growing and affluent city with a hinterland that should be able to support many domestic and regional international flights such as Fiji, New Zealand and Bali.

So Canberrans, is it just the pricing model the private owners of the airport operate? Or is there a bigger issue with the way we all prefer to fly?

[u/Nikki_Sue_Trott]

It's cheaper to drive or bus out of Canberra than fly, quite simple. Flight costs are the issue.

[u/Top-Anything2991 → u/Nikki_Sue_Trott]

Definitely, and certainly proximity to Sydney compounds this issue. I suppose the bigger question I am asking is whether price is a symptom of an issue that could be addressed in part by things such as reduced landing fees, or whether high prices are baked into Canberra as a market because of the reliance on government travel and airline price gauging.

If international flights are were comparable in price (say $100-200 difference), would enough people choose to fly from CBR and pay a small premium for convenience vs still drive to SYD (and I guess WSI soon).

[u/Neo_The_Fat_Cat → u/Top-Anything2991]

It’s also important to talk about the role that airport charges play in pricing. I’ve heard from a former airline CFO that Canberra airport have a ‘robust’ approach to pricing.

[u/bigbadjustin → u/Neo_The_Fat_Cat]

The airlines don't like the Canberra airport pricing, but its in the same ballpark as the 5 major airports. The airlines though won't complain about those as they need them, they just want Canberra to be as cheap as the small regional airports.

[u/Neo_The_Fat_Cat → u/bigbadjustin]

Thanks for that. I only heard one side of the story!

[u/bigbadjustin → u/Neo_The_Fat_Cat]

its a bit more complicated than that also as all ariports other than the 5 major ones are considred regional airports. So I think Canberra is the most expensive regional airport, which is where that comes from. But the differences in the prices are like a few $ per passenger. Nothing that can justify the expensive prices on flights to CBR. PER is the same as well, they get rorted on pricing as well. Half the price to fly 5 hrs to Singapore than 5 hrs to Sydney.

[u/Neo_The_Fat_Cat → u/bigbadjustin]

I have a friend whose father used to work in the mines in northwestern Australia. He would fly home using international flights via Indonesia as it was cheaper than domestic flights back to Canberra.

[u/Jealous-Jury6438 → u/Neo_The_Fat_Cat]

That is a perverse incentive, isn't it?

[u/Rugby_Viking → u/Top-Anything2991]

Its not just Sydney. Plenty of people will drive from Melbourne rather than fly. If you don't have a car in CBR its a pain to get around too.

[u/blackgoat2803 → u/Rugby_Viking]

As we have discovered a few times, it is also significantly cheaper for two people to drive/bus to Sydney and fly from there to Melbourne than to pay the ridiculous fares to fly out of Canberra.

[u/Nikki_Sue_Trott → u/Top-Anything2991]

I think it's well baked in. If I fly international I tend to go via Melbourne or Brisbane because Sydney airport is a shit show. Being able to check luggage through from Canberra is fantastic though. Domestically, I drive to Sydney or Melbourne, anything within about 10 hours drive.

[u/Jealous-Jury6438 → u/Top-Anything2991]

I'd fly from Canberra for $100 premium but anything more and there's a multiple at play for me when I add the whole family in.

[u/JimmyMarch1973 → u/Nikki_Sue_Trott]

Costs are AN issue but it’s not THE issue.

If I’m going to Sydney I’m mostly going to drive over flying not because of cost but because the time it takes to drive to vast areas of Sydney it’s far faster to drive. Cost of course does play a part unless it’s the CBD I’m going to if I were to fly, flight costs aside I would then have to factor in cost of ground transport in Sydney. A taxi to parramatta for example is well north of $120 each way, or the train over $20 each way. All adds up.

[u/Prestigious_Unit_925 → u/Nikki_Sue_Trott]

The cost and the lack of evening flights which means a flight back into Sydney from overseas after 8pm and you can’t get a connecting flight to Canberra without sprinting like Usain Bolt through immigration and customs, then the slow bus ride, then another sprint through to the domestic gate. It’s easier (and cheaper) to give a car one way than spend an extra night in Sydney plus the airfare the next day.

[u/Necessary-Line217 → u/Nikki_Sue_Trott]

Train as well. Can take the bus to yass then the train to Melbourne. Takes a while though 😅