Having risen 3.94% from yesterday's closing price, the Sydney Airport share price is currently trading at $6.20.

While today's rise is the most significant in a while, the airport's share price has been climbing since late February. Interestingly, Australians began receiving COVID-19 vaccines around the same time.

Let's take a deep dive into how the Sydney Airport share price has been behaving lately.

We've got lift off

The Sydney Airport share price is once again launching towards a positive year-to-date return. At the time of writing, it's down by just 3.59% in 2021.

The only news we've heard out of the airport this month is its traffic performance report for February. It stated there was a considerable increase in domestic traffic last month when compared with January. The number of domestic travellers using the airport in January 2021 was down 91% compared to January 2020. Whereas February saw only 70% less domestic traffic than the same period last year.  

Perhaps this increase in traffic is helping to drive the airport's share price.

Additionally, its shares have been trending upwards since the first COVID-19 vaccination was given to an Australian on 23 February. Currently, it is 10.95% higher than it was the day before vaccinations began.

There was a visible dip on Thursday last week which still hasn't quite corrected itself yet. The ASX is a complex beast, but the dip aligns with news of the initial COVID case confirmed in Brisbane, which eventually resulted in the region's 3-day lockdown.

On that note, perhaps today's rise reflects this morning's more positive news from Queensland.

It's also worth mentioning the Auckland International Airport Limited (ASX: AIA) share price is tracking very similarly. Its currently up by 3.32% today.

What does the future hold?

It would be lovely to have a crystal ball right now, or any time when trying to predict the ASX.

Nearly a fortnight ago, Motley Fool looked at international airport stocks' share price trajectory. What we are seeing from Sydney Airport shares recently is similar to how many international airport shares rose in value after vaccinations began in other countries.

In fact, Corporacion America Airports (NYSE: CAAP), which operates more airports globally than any other company, saw its share price rise by 20% since US vaccinations began.

No one can predict if, when or where virus outbreaks will pop up in Australia again, particularly since Brisbane is currently in lockdown.

But, if our relatively small COVID-19 outbreaks continue to be but bumps in the road and the global vaccination rollout continues, investors will be hoping to soon see the light at the end of the tunnel for the Sydney Airport share price.

Sydney Airport share price snapshot

The Sydney Airport share price is up by 13.76% over the last 12 months.  

It has a market capitalisation of around $16 billion, with 2.7 billion shares outstanding.

The post What's driving the Sydney Airport (ASX:SYD) share price today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

So, what does this mean for ASX listed airport shares Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd (ASX: SYD) and Auckland International Airport Limited (ASX: AIA)?

Let's take a look at how ASX airport shares could be impacted as more Australians receive vaccinations.

Here's what happened to US and European airport shares when vaccinations began

Some insight into what we can expect for ASX airport shares once the vaccine rollout gains momentum can be gleaned from the United States and Europe. So far, 22% of US citizens have had their first dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, while 12% have had both doses.

European countries differ in how quickly they've rolled out the Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines. Politico reports that the United Kingdom is leading the race with more than 38% of its citizens having received a vaccine, but the median percentage of vaccinated people in European nations' populations is around 11%.

Data on airport share prices is limited as, globally, very few airports are listed on stock exchanges. Though, the few that are seem to be showing promising gains since vaccinations began in their home countries.

European airport shares

Vaccinations began in Europe on 27 December 2020. Since that date, a number of airports listed on various global stock exchanges have posted gains, including:

Paris airport – Aeroports de Paris SA – which has had a share price gain of 7.1%.

Madrid airport's management company – Aena SME – which has had a share price gain of 4%.

Copenhagen airport – Copenhagen Airports A/S – which has had a share price gain of 12.16%.

Zurich airport – Flughafen Zuerich AG – which has had a share price gain of 3.8%.

US airport shares

While the US share market doesn't have any airports listed, there is one airport management company on the New York Stock Exchange.

Corporacion America Airports SA (NYSE: CAAP) operates more airports than any other operator in the world. Its shares are up by 16.75% since the US began vaccinating its population on 14 December 2020.

What this could mean for ASX airport shares

Vaccinations in Australia began on 22 February 2021, with around 200,000 Aussies having now received the jab.

Both Sydney Airport and Auckland International Airport saw increases in share prices during that week, and both have continued on a generally upward trajectory since. At the time of writing, Sydney Airport and Auckland International shares have increased by 14.54% and 13.54% respectively since the day the first Australian received the vaccine.

Currently, the Sydney Airport share price is down 24.5% from the first day of trade in 2020. Its latest Airport Traffic Performance report, which covered the month of January, showed passenger numbers were still down by more than 94% compared to the prior January. 

Auckland International shares are down 16.65% since the first day of trade in 2020.

We Australians love our international travel, and many of us are counting the days until we can next step foot in an airport. But, vaccination or no vaccination, international flights won't resume until at least July 2021, according to SBS. That's the earliest date airlines are taking bookings from.

There are even reports, like this one from Bloomberg, that international travel won't return to semi-normal until 2023.

ASX listed airports do appear to be loosely following the upward trend displayed by their international counterparts following vaccination rollouts. However, unfortunately, there is no clear answer as to how this will continue to play out. 

The post Vaccines have begun, what might this mean for ASX airport shares? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.