Australian Flight Data

Sunshine Coast Airport

MCY · 2 monitored domestic routes · data from Jan 1985

Passenger movements
160,794
Apr 2026
International share
5%
8,299 movements
Aircraft movements
1,039
landings and take-offs
vs 2019
137.2%
of pre-pandemic average

Airport traffic: to Apr 2026

Sunshine Coast handled 160,794 passenger movements in Apr 2026, the 10th busiest of the 22 monitored airports. Traffic now runs 37% above 2019. Across its 2 monitored routes, 0.6% 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

085,345170,690 Apr 2025Oct 2025Apr 2026
090,531181,062Delta 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
090,531181,062Tigerair 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
090,531181,062The 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

05651,130 Apr 2025Oct 2025Apr 2026
06581,316Delta 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
06581,316Tigerair 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
06581,316The 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 Sunshine Coast

RoutePassengersMonth
Sunshine Coast ↔ Sydney 58,682 Jun 2026
Sunshine Coast ↔ Melbourne 56,025 Jun 2026

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

Punctuality on Sunshine Coast routes

Across all 2 monitored routes touching this airport, 0.6% of scheduled flights were cancelled over the 12 months to Jul 2026 — against a national average of 2.1%.

RouteCancelledOn timeFlights
Sunshine Coast ↔ Sydney 0.9% 73.8% 5,512
Sunshine Coast ↔ Melbourne 0.3% 70.2% 4,676

Punctuality: 12 months to Jul 2026

Sunshine Coast in numbers

Busiest month on record181,062 · Jan 2024
National ranking, 2025 11th busiest
Busiest year on record 1,851,637 · 2023
Data coverageJan 1985 – Apr 2026 (496 months)
Domestic share, Apr 202694.8%
2019 monthly average106,920