Airservices Australia has released its Australian Aviation Network Overview report for September 2025.
Highlights include:
- The Australian aviation network achieved major milestones this month. The 18th of September (Thursday) marked the busiest day for airline passenger transport since 2019 with 2799 flights. Brisbane Airport set an all-time record on 26th of September (Friday) with 617 movements. This highlights the ongoing leisure-led nature of demand driven by holiday travel and major events like the Australian Football League (AFL) Grand Final.
- Airlines added capacity and deployed larger aircraft to meet peak demand. International traffic was buoyed by outbound tourism to nearby destinations such as Bali and Kuala Lumpur, codeshare agreements connecting to global hubs, and inbound demand reflecting Australia’s position in high-value, long-haul travel segments.
- Airports are responding to this growth with multi-billion-dollar investments in terminal expansions, technology and sustainability, as seen in Sydney and Perth’s preliminary master plans. Fleet renewal, such as the entry of the Airbus A320XLR into commercial service, is enabling more direct, point-to-point leisure routes within Australia and internationally.
- Despite challenging winter conditions, industry performance remained resilient. The Senior Industry Roundtable Forum, which is held during heightened travel periods, played a key role in aligning network planning and performance while collectively focusing on minimising passenger disruptions. Ground Delay Program (GDP) application dropped by 50 hours this September compared to last year, even with over 100 additional daily aircraft movements at the four busiest airports.
- Strong adoption of Airport Collaborative Decision Making (A-CDM) at Brisbane and Perth continue to deliver benefits through optimised departure sequencing and the dynamic, real-time distribution of delays more equitably. Since its implementation, daily total air traffic flow management departure delays at Perth Airport have decreased substantially from around 390 minutes (~4minutes per flight) to just 50 minutes (less than a minute per flight).
- In September 2025, service variations at air traffic control towers fell to their lowest levels since July 2022, with over 90 per cent reduction from the monthly average. Airspace service variation was limited to one area only. However, unplanned staffing unavailability in Sydney Terminal Airspace on 12 and 19 September highlighted that resilience gaps remain. We continue to focus on active recruitment, training and building standby capacity, while improving end-to-end workforce planning processes to prevent and mitigate the impact of such events. ARFF service availability recorded its highest level in two years, reaffirming our commitment to world-class emergency response, critical for aviation safety and growth.
About Airservices
Airservices Australia is a government-owned organisation responsible for safely and efficiently managing air traffic in 11 per cent of the world’s airspace, as well as the provision of aviation rescue fire fighting services at Australia’s busiest airports. We are regulated by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority and work closely with our customers and industry to support the long-term growth of the aviation industry.
