Air passenger numbers down 20%

Air passenger numbers to Hamilton Island in February were down 23.2% to/from Brisbane, and 20.1% to/from Sydney, compared to February 2010.

3.98 million passengers were carried on Australian domestic airlines (including regional operations) in February 2011, almost exactly the same number compared to February 2010.

Proserpine also saw a decrease of 20.0% in passengers on its flights to and from Brisbane in February, compared to February 2010.

The Federal Department of Infrastructure and Transport Report says that the drop in numbers to the Whitsundays Airports "can be partly attributed to the severe weather conditions during February 2011."

Passenger Numbers Year Ending February 2011 compared to Year Ending February 2010.
People flying in and out of Proserpine has dropped 4.8%.
People flying between Brisbane and Hamilton Island has dropped 7.2%.
*Data for the Hamilton Island - Sydney route is unavailable to compare due to extra flight from July 2009.

Sources:
Department of Infrastructure and Transport