✈️ Australia's business jet activity contracts overall, with Melbourne the sole outlier posting slight growth
Avi-Go data shows that from the start of 2026 to date, business jet movements at Australia's three major airports have contracted overall: Sydney YSSY recorded 2,457 movements, down 218 year-on-year (-8.2%), the largest decline; Perth YPPH recorded 1,412 movements, down 71 year-on-year (-4.8%); Melbourne YMML recorded 450 movements, up a slight 4 year-on-year (+0.9%), making it the only airport of the three to post positive growth. Sydney is the largest in scale, roughly 1.7 times that of Perth and 5.5 times that of Melbourne, yet it shows the most pronounced contraction, reflecting a simultaneous weakening in Southern Hemisphere winter demand from UHNWIs and mining-sector travel.
Impact: As Australia's core business jet hub, Sydney's near-double-digit loss in movements directly compresses peak-season revenue expectations for local FBOs and ground handlers; the mild decline at mining-driven Perth indicates that resource-sector travel has not seen a cliff-edge drop-off.
Recommendation: Operators and FBOs serving the Sydney market should reassess parking and staffing schedules by the end of Q3 2026 (before the end of the Southern Hemisphere winter), reallocating some surplus capacity to Melbourne, which remains stable; Brokers can track signs of a rebound in Perth's mining-sector travel in late July and lock in ad-hoc charter demand from resource-sector clients.