Airservices Australia has released its Australian Aviation Network Overview report for August 2026.
Highlights include:
- Activity in the Australian aviation network moderated in August 2026. Domestic traffic eased following previously announced airline capacity reductions and the seasonal pullback after the July school holiday peak. International demand remained concentrated in Asia Pacific markets.
- Against mixed domestic and global economic conditions, airlines continue to prioritise capacity discipline and network optimisation. Ongoing fleet renewal provides the foundation for long-term growth, with newer-generation aircraft now operating on around half of Australian routes, enhancing efficiency, passenger experience and network expansion.
- As reported in July, we have publicly acknowledged workforce resilience challenges that affected air traffic service outcomes in August. While Air Traffic Flow Management (ATFM) ground delays remained a small component of total network delay at 2.4% in August, with Airservices contributing 0.6%, Sydney experienced higher ATFM ground delays at 3.7%, of which Airservices contributed 2.3%. As a consequence, Airservices attributable ground delays at Sydney this month were around four times higher than the monthly average in the previous financial year.
- While average airborne and ground delay minutes per flight remained stable across the network during this period, Sydney’s average ATFM ground delay minutes per flight were around 39% higher during the month. We are implementing a Sydney KSA Service Resilience Plan and providing transparency on progress through a Department-led Sydney KSA ATC Working Group, which includes representatives from unions, airlines, Sydney Airport and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority.
- This program of work is focused on uplifting workforce planning, recruitment, training, roster resilience and system improvements. Restoring service consistency at Sydney remains our priority to underpin the effective operation of the national network, and we are committed to working collaboratively with all stakeholders to ensure long-term stability and resiliency.
- Despite these challenges it was nonetheless pleasing to see industry on-time performance continuing to improve, with cancellations more than halved compared with July last year. Average airborne delays remained stable. This reflects the fundamental robustness of the sector and its resilience to withstand short-term operational headwinds.
- Airservices maintains a consistent approach to measure delays and attributions based on available data. All delays, regardless of cause, can create consequential effects through factors such as airline crewing, aircraft availability or technical issues, gate unavailability, airport works, infrastructure or system outage, and ATFM measures. Reporting consequential delays would require an industry-wide approach to share data from all delay sources and a standardised methodology to consistently measure both initial and downstream impacts.
- It is critical to note that safety remains our overriding priority. We are cooperating fully with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau on the investigations into six safety occurrences at Sydney Airport. Each occurrence involved different operational circumstances and demonstrated multiple layers of safety controls to prevent further incident. As the Sydney KSA ATC Working Group noted in its communique of 28 August, the aviation safety system is designed to manage operational risks through multiple safeguards and, based on the information currently available, the recent occurrences do not indicate an immediate safety risk to the travelling public.
- We remain focused on continual improvement and collaboration with government and industry stakeholders to maintain the highest standards of aviation safety.
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