Passenger movements
156,102
Apr 2026
Darwin Airport
DRW · 6 monitored domestic routes · data from Jan 1985
International share
15%
23,753 movements
Aircraft movements
2,212
landings and take-offs
vs 2019
81%
of pre-pandemic average
Airport traffic: to Apr 2026
Darwin handled 156,102 passenger movements in Apr 2026, the 11th busiest of the 22 monitored airports. Traffic is still 19% below its 2019 average. Across its 3 monitored routes, 0.7% of flights were cancelled — well below 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
To Apr 2026 · Marks show industry events
Aircraft movements
To Apr 2026
Busiest routes from Darwin
| Route | Passengers | Month |
|---|---|---|
| Darwin ↔ Brisbane | 33,378 | Jun 2026 |
| Darwin ↔ Melbourne | 31,119 | Jun 2026 |
| Darwin ↔ Adelaide | 17,072 | Oct 2023 |
| Darwin ↔ Sydney | 16,941 | Jan 2023 |
| Darwin ↔ Perth | 16,156 | Jun 2026 |
| Darwin ↔ Alice Springs | 4,726 | Jan 2020 |
Route passengers are a different measure from airport movements above — one trip, not two.
Punctuality on Darwin routes
Across all 3 monitored routes touching this airport, 0.7% of scheduled flights were cancelled over the 12 months to Jul 2026 — against a national average of 2.1%.
| Route | Cancelled | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Darwin ↔ Perth | 0.9% | 84.3% | 1,495 |
| Darwin ↔ Brisbane | 0.6% | 79.5% | 2,386 |
| Darwin ↔ Melbourne | 0.6% | 71.5% | 1,994 |
Punctuality: 12 months to Jul 2026
Darwin in numbers
| Busiest month on record | 225,697 · Jul 2015 |
| National ranking, 2025 | 10th busiest |
| Busiest year on record | 2,117,132 · 2014 |
| Data coverage | Jan 1985 – Apr 2026 (496 months) |
| Domestic share, Apr 2026 | 84.8% |
| 2019 monthly average | 165,291 |