Australian Flight Data

Canberra Airport

CBR · 5 monitored domestic routes · data from Jan 1985

Passenger movements
218,726
Apr 2026
International share
1%
2,410 movements
Aircraft movements
2,979
landings and take-offs
vs 2019
79.9%
of pre-pandemic average

Airport traffic: to Apr 2026

Canberra handled 218,726 passenger movements in Apr 2026, the 9th busiest of the 22 monitored airports. It is almost entirely a domestic airport — international services are 1.1% of movements. Traffic is still 20% below its 2019 average. Across its 5 monitored routes, 3.4% of flights were cancelled — well above the national average.

A passenger movement is not the same as a passenger. Every domestic passenger is counted twice — once departing, once arriving — while an international passenger is counted once. That is the official definition, and it is why these totals cannot be added to the route figures elsewhere on this site.

Passenger movements, 1985 to 2026

0129,540259,079 Apr 2025Oct 2025Apr 2026
0131,224262,448Delta lockdowns close the eastern states — Jul 2021 Omicron wave hits crew availability — Jan 2022 Bonza launches on leisure routes — Nov 2023 Bonza collapses after 15 months — Mar 2024 Rex enters administration and exits the trunk routes — Aug 2024 Cyclone Alfred closes south-east Queensland airports — Mar 2025 Apr 2021Oct 2023Apr 2026
0152,732305,464Tigerair Australia stops flying — Feb 2020 COVID-19 border closures begin — Mar 2020 The deepest month: domestic traffic falls 96% — Apr 2020 Rex enters the trunk routes with jets — Mar 2021 Delta lockdowns close the eastern states — Jul 2021 Omicron wave hits crew availability — Jan 2022 Bonza launches on leisure routes — Nov 2023 Bonza collapses after 15 months — Mar 2024 Rex enters administration and exits the trunk routes — Aug 2024 Cyclone Alfred closes south-east Queensland airports — Mar 2025 Apr 2016Apr 2021Apr 2026
0158,951317,902The pilots' dispute grounds domestic aviation — Aug 1989 Domestic deregulation ends the Two Airline Policy — Oct 1990 Virgin Blue launches — Aug 2000 Ansett Australia collapses — Sep 2001 Jetstar launches — May 2004 OzJet's all-business experiment ends within months — Jan 2006 Tiger Airways Australia enters the market — Apr 2008 Volcanic ash cloud disrupts southern Australia — Jun 2011 Qantas grounds its entire fleet — Oct 2011 Skywest becomes Virgin Australia Regional Airlines — May 2013 Tigerair Australia stops flying — Feb 2020 COVID-19 border closures begin — Mar 2020 The deepest month: domestic traffic falls 96% — Apr 2020 Rex enters the trunk routes with jets — Mar 2021 Delta lockdowns close the eastern states — Jul 2021 Omicron wave hits crew availability — Jan 2022 Bonza launches on leisure routes — Nov 2023 Bonza collapses after 15 months — Mar 2024 Rex enters administration and exits the trunk routes — Aug 2024 Cyclone Alfred closes south-east Queensland airports — Mar 2025 Jan 1985Sep 2005Apr 2026

To Apr 2026 · Marks show industry events

Aircraft movements

01,6573,314 Apr 2025Oct 2025Apr 2026
01,8353,669Delta lockdowns close the eastern states — Jul 2021 Omicron wave hits crew availability — Jan 2022 Bonza launches on leisure routes — Nov 2023 Bonza collapses after 15 months — Mar 2024 Rex enters administration and exits the trunk routes — Aug 2024 Cyclone Alfred closes south-east Queensland airports — Mar 2025 Apr 2021Oct 2023Apr 2026
01,8353,669Tigerair Australia stops flying — Feb 2020 COVID-19 border closures begin — Mar 2020 The deepest month: domestic traffic falls 96% — Apr 2020 Rex enters the trunk routes with jets — Mar 2021 Delta lockdowns close the eastern states — Jul 2021 Omicron wave hits crew availability — Jan 2022 Bonza launches on leisure routes — Nov 2023 Bonza collapses after 15 months — Mar 2024 Rex enters administration and exits the trunk routes — Aug 2024 Cyclone Alfred closes south-east Queensland airports — Mar 2025 Apr 2016Apr 2021Apr 2026
02,5195,038The pilots' dispute grounds domestic aviation — Aug 1989 Domestic deregulation ends the Two Airline Policy — Oct 1990 Virgin Blue launches — Aug 2000 Ansett Australia collapses — Sep 2001 Jetstar launches — May 2004 OzJet's all-business experiment ends within months — Jan 2006 Tiger Airways Australia enters the market — Apr 2008 Volcanic ash cloud disrupts southern Australia — Jun 2011 Qantas grounds its entire fleet — Oct 2011 Skywest becomes Virgin Australia Regional Airlines — May 2013 Tigerair Australia stops flying — Feb 2020 COVID-19 border closures begin — Mar 2020 The deepest month: domestic traffic falls 96% — Apr 2020 Rex enters the trunk routes with jets — Mar 2021 Delta lockdowns close the eastern states — Jul 2021 Omicron wave hits crew availability — Jan 2022 Bonza launches on leisure routes — Nov 2023 Bonza collapses after 15 months — Mar 2024 Rex enters administration and exits the trunk routes — Aug 2024 Cyclone Alfred closes south-east Queensland airports — Mar 2025 Jan 1985Sep 2005Apr 2026

To Apr 2026

Busiest routes from Canberra

RoutePassengersMonth
Canberra ↔ Melbourne 71,267 Jun 2026
Canberra ↔ Brisbane 54,812 Jun 2026
Canberra ↔ Sydney 44,518 Jun 2026
Canberra ↔ Adelaide 15,089 Jun 2026
Canberra ↔ Gold Coast 14,215 Jun 2026

Route passengers are a different measure from airport movements above — one trip, not two.

Punctuality on Canberra routes

Across all 5 monitored routes touching this airport, 3.4% of scheduled flights were cancelled over the 12 months to Jul 2026 — against a national average of 2.1%.

RouteCancelledOn timeFlights
Canberra ↔ Sydney 5.1% 79.8% 14,738
Canberra ↔ Melbourne 3.3% 76.7% 8,865
Canberra ↔ Adelaide 1.6% 86.8% 2,753
Canberra ↔ Brisbane 1.0% 81.0% 7,007
Canberra ↔ Gold Coast 0.0% 80.9% 1,097

Punctuality: 12 months to Jul 2026

Canberra in numbers

Busiest month on record317,902 · Mar 2010
National ranking, 2025 9th busiest
Busiest year on record 3,304,010 · 2010
Data coverageJan 1985 – Apr 2026 (496 months)
Domestic share, Apr 202698.9%
2019 monthly average269,843