Sydney Airport says 2025 was its best year on record for inbound traffic, with 99.4 % of international passengers clearing security in under 10 minutes during Q4 after new screening lanes went live in December(australianaviation.com.au). Inbound immigration processing also improved: 90 % of arrivals cleared passport control within 34 minutes, an 8-percentage-point gain year-on-year.
Chief Executive Scott Charlton flagged a continued focus on “capacity and passenger-experience” projects in 2026, including completion of a A$200 million T2 upgrade and the forthcoming T2/T3 integration. For global mobility teams the data is encouraging: faster clearance reduces the buffer time they must build into airport-to-office transfers and connecting flights.
![Sydney Airport posts record international passenger numbers, immigration wait times improve]()
At the same time, organisations dispatching employees to Australia will need to keep visa lead times in mind. VisaHQ’s online platform (https://www.visahq.com/australia/) offers end-to-end assistance for tourist, business and work visas, giving travel managers real-time status updates and helping them synchronise approvals with the faster airport processing now available at SYD.
The record volumes reflect both a rebound in leisure demand and a surge in business travel tied to major events such as the Brisbane 2032 Olympics supply-chain ramp-up. Airlines may respond by up-gauging aircraft or adding frequencies, adding seat inventory that could temper corporate fares in the medium term.
Nevertheless, planners should monitor construction milestones closely; large-scale works risk temporary lane closures that could erode recent efficiency gains.
Chief Executive Scott Charlton flagged a continued focus on “capacity and passenger-experience” projects in 2026, including completion of a A$200 million T2 upgrade and the forthcoming T2/T3 integration. For global mobility teams the data is encouraging: faster clearance reduces the buffer time they must build into airport-to-office transfers and connecting flights.
At the same time, organisations dispatching employees to Australia will need to keep visa lead times in mind. VisaHQ’s online platform (https://www.visahq.com/australia/) offers end-to-end assistance for tourist, business and work visas, giving travel managers real-time status updates and helping them synchronise approvals with the faster airport processing now available at SYD.
The record volumes reflect both a rebound in leisure demand and a surge in business travel tied to major events such as the Brisbane 2032 Olympics supply-chain ramp-up. Airlines may respond by up-gauging aircraft or adding frequencies, adding seat inventory that could temper corporate fares in the medium term.
Nevertheless, planners should monitor construction milestones closely; large-scale works risk temporary lane closures that could erode recent efficiency gains.
