The Cairns Airport numbers for March include some positive PR spin on international routes. This has been a feature in recent months. It can’t disguise a slow start to the year below expectations following a positive tourism narrative all through 2016.
The growth slowdown has been quite sharp on the nominal numbers. However Q1 is impacted by seasonal lunar factors and the 2016 leap year which make analysis more opaque. There was some controversy around Chinese New Year flights and related tourism numbers. Comparative BITRE data posted for key domestic routes in February is quite poor for Cairns. This is the 30 largest city pairs for February:
| City-Pair | Feb 2016 | Feb 2017 | % Change | |
| 19 | Hobart – Sydney | 49 154 | 52 456 | 6.7 |
| 30 | Melbourne – Sunshine Coast | 26 336 | 27 949 | 6.1 |
| 26 | Sunshine Coast – Sydney | 36 750 | 38 796 | 5.6 |
| 8 | Hobart – Melbourne | 129 564 | 136 043 | 5.0 |
| 12 | Canberra – Melbourne | 83 127 | 86 904 | 4.5 |
| 23 | Brisbane – Newcastle | 41 775 | 43 145 | 3.3 |
| 22 | Adelaide – Perth | 46 243 | 47 412 | 2.5 |
| 29 | Ballina – Sydney | 28 519 | 28 973 | 1.6 |
| 25 | Brisbane – Canberra | 39 457 | 39 597 | 0.4 |
| 2 | Brisbane – Sydney | 351 922 | 349 746 | -0.6 |
| 7 | Adelaide – Sydney | 145 720 | 144 427 | -0.9 |
| 28 | Melbourne – Newcastle | 32 771 | 32 401 | -1.1 |
| 20 | Brisbane – Mackay | 49 661 | 49 091 | -1.1 |
| 5 | Adelaide – Melbourne | 186 480 | 182 535 | -2.1 |
| 4 | Gold Coast – Sydney | 212 763 | 207 359 | -2.5 |
| 24 | Brisbane – Rockhampton | 40 954 | 39 862 | -2.7 |
| 9 | Gold Coast – Melbourne | 138 607 | 134 822 | -2.7 |
| 14 | Launceston – Melbourne | 78 260 | 76 088 | -2.8 |
| 15 | Canberra – Sydney | 77 293 | 75 093 | -2.8 |
| 18 | Adelaide – Brisbane | 59 094 | 56 910 | -3.7 |
| 1 | Melbourne – Sydney | 743 202 | 713 450 | -4.0 |
| 17 | Brisbane – Townsville | 65 563 | 62 812 | -4.2 |
| 10 | Perth – Sydney | 134 203 | 128 175 | -4.5 |
| 13 | Cairns – Sydney | 82 414 | 78 064 | -5.3 |
| 3 | Brisbane – Melbourne | 253 989 | 240 455 | -5.3 |
| 21 | Cairns – Melbourne | 50 771 | 47 655 | -6.1 |
| 16 | Brisbane – Perth | 72 178 | 67 530 | -6.4 |
| 6 | Melbourne – Perth | 158 809 | 145 066 | -8.7 |
| 11 | Brisbane – Cairns | 104 094 | 93 632 | -10.1 |
| 27 | Karratha – Perth | 38 595 | 33 093 | -14.3 |
Brisbane – Cairns is a standout there surrounded by resource related declines. The leap year in 2016 will take a bit under 3% (percentage points) off growth numbers for all airports. No excuses in April.
Graphs and most recent BITRE data updated at Cairns Airport.
