The Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd (ASX: SYD) share price is following the wider S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) lower today. The ASX 200 is down 1.05% while Sydney Airport shares are down 2.7%.
But looking at Sydney Airport's wider performance since 1 November 2020 – shares are up 12% – you'd be forgiven for thinking that business was picking up for the ASX 200 travel share.
It's not.
Traffic drought
The Sydney Airport share price is sliding this morning following the release of the company's February traffic figures.
The numbers reveal a slightly lower year-on-year decline than the airport's January Airport Traffic Performance report. The January 2021 figures revealed total passenger numbers remained more than 94% lower than in January 2020, right before COVID-19 began its global march, bringing international and even most domestic travel in Australia to a virtual halt.
Still, before the pandemic struck, the February traffic figures just released would be nothing short of shocking.
Sydney Airport reported a 79.8% drop in its total passenger traffic compared to the previous corresponding period, with 623,000 passengers.
With state borders reopening later in February and domestic air travel slowly reviving, the 596,000 domestic passengers represent a 70.0% fall from February 2020 numbers.
Not surprisingly, the international passenger figures remain at a trickle. Only 27,000 international passengers passed through the airport in February, down 97.5% year on year.
Breaking it down to nationalities, Australians were the largest cohort of international travellers coming through the airport, with China number two, New Zealand number three, India number four and the United States number five.
Sydney Airport said, "The downturn in international passenger traffic is expected to persist until government travel restrictions are eased."
Sydney Airport share price snapshot
Despite the drought in traffic, Sydney Airport shares gained 3.7% in February, as investors looked beyond the current restrictions towards the reopening as vaccines begin to roll out across the world.
Since the first successful vaccine rumours hit the news at the start of November, Sydney Airport shares are up by 12.5%. Over the past 12 months, shares are up by around 34%, compared to a 40% gain on the ASX 200.
Year to date, the Sydney Airport share price is down 4%.
