Australia’s four largest airports report profit despite pandemic hit

Together, the four largest airports in Australia registered profit in 2020-21, even though air travel suffered a hit due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, stated a report by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. According to the competition watchdog’s Airport Monitoring Report, Sydney Airport reported an operating profit of $148.46m last financial year, while Melbourne Airport posted a loss of $106.82m. Brisbane and Perth airports posted profits of $48.14m and $26.89m, respectively. The report does note that the combined profits of the four airports in 2020-21 were only around 5% of profits from before the pandemic. ACCC Commissioner Anna Brakey said: “Despite severely reduced aeronautical revenues, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth airports were still able to turn a profit last financial year as a result of reduced operating costs. “This is a surprising result, given the impact of the pandemic on the aviation industry, and it demonstrates the resilience of the airports.” However, the airports rejected this assessment by the ACCC. The Australian Associated Press quoted Perth Airport as saying that the regulator had confused ‘profit’ and EBITA (earnings before interest, taxes and amortisation).<br/>