The outback airports of Mount Isa and Longreach are showing signs of a strong recovery, thanks largely to the resources sector.

Queensland Airports Limited owns facilities in Gold Coast, Townsville, Mount Isa, and Longreach.

Its chief executive Chris Mills said of the four, Mount Isa has been the strongest performer during the pandemic.

"Gold Coast was certainly the hardest hit."

Regions stay strong

Mr Mills said Longreach has begun performing well after numbers initially dropped by 90 per cent in April.

"Even though I've reported July down 50 per cent … I'm expecting August to be better, and by September Longreach is probably going to be travelling pretty well compared to the previous year."

Mr Mills said the reason behind the strong passenger numbers for Mount Isa throughout the pandemic was the resources sector.

"And then you only had to move forward a couple of months and the border, of course, was shut in March, and we hit our low point in April.

"In the month of April we were down 76 per cent on the previous April.

"I guess the positive is we are starting to see some recovery in those numbers.

"Over the last couple of months in particular … when you look at July … Mount Isa is now only down 40 per cent [on passenger numbers of the same month last year]."

In July this year, Mount Isa airport saw almost 12,000 passengers through the doors.

COVID-19 considerations

Mr Mills said with more passengers coming back through airports, all health and safety considerations were being made.

"A range of hygiene and communication measures are in place throughout the [Mount Isa] terminal to keep our passengers safe, including increased cleaning and hand sanitiser available in several locations," he said.

"We are also asking our passengers to help by using online options for check-in and to practice physical distancing where possible."