Global Infrastructure Partners has seen an improvement in passenger traffic and financials at its airport assets. Following an acquisition by BlackRock, it has also made further additions to its airport portfolio.

Edinburgh Airport handled 14.4 million passengers in the year 2023, which was 98% of its 2019 figures, with the bosses hailing the period “an almost full recovery” following the COVID-19 outbreak.

The airport’s turnover hit GBP280mn, an increase of almost GBP100mn from the year before, according to newly filed accounts.

The airport also posted a pre-tax profit of GBP121.7mn in 2023, an increase of GBP106mn from the previous year.

Sydney Airport recovered faster than expected from the pandemic, with total passenger numbers rebounding to 38.6 million passengers in 2023 from 29.1 million a year earlier. However, 2023’s passenger numbers continued to remain below the 44.4 million passengers handled in 2019 before the pandemic.

Nevertheless, the airport reported that annual EBITDA had more than doubled to AUS$1.22bn as it capitalised on the resurgence in flying in Australia and around the world.

While the airport reported an AUS588mn net annual loss in 2023 after higher finance costs combined with depreciation expenses offset a 38% increase in revenue to AUS1.7bn, the surge in earnings puts the airport back on a par with its performance in 2019 and 2018 before the break-out of the COVID-19.

The airport delivered had AUS1.15bn in annual EBITDA in 2019 and AUS$1.28bn in the previous year.

The post-tax loss was much lower than the AUS943mn loss reported in the previous period, which covered October 2021 to December 2022.