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Brisbane Airport has marked what it says is the busiest single day in its history.
This Friday has seen a forecast total of 82,779 passengers transit through the airport, a record driven by both the AFL and NRL finals and the start of school holidays in NSW. Around three-quarters of the passengers are domestic travellers.
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According to the airport’s figures, domestic travel over the September–October school holidays is forecast to rise 3.4 per cent over last year, and international travel to rise 16.2 per cent.
“No matter the result for Brisbane’s teams on the field this weekend, Queensland is already a winner with more people flying into Brisbane than leaving, boosting jobs across the state’s tourism industry,” Brisbane Airport spokesperson Peter Doherty said.
“We know when Brisbane Airport is busy, Queensland is thriving, and the terminals are humming these holidays. In the past year, the markets with the biggest growth in annual passengers have been Japan, New Zealand and mainland China.”
The three major domestic airlines all ramped up Brisbane-Melbourne services ahead of the weekend’s AFL grand final in Melbourne between the Brisbane Lions and the Geelong Cats, and the NRL preliminary final in Brisbane between the Brisbane Broncos and Penrith Panthers.
Between them, the airlines have added 27 additional flights and 4,500 additional seats over the week.
“Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin have all added extra services, injecting thousands of additional seats between Brisbane and Melbourne to help meet the demand,” Doherty said.
“This was already shaping up to be a busy travel period, with the start of the NSW school holidays and plenty of tourists heading north to Queensland. We expect to see a fair few Panthers jerseys among them too flying in for Sunday’s showdown against the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium.”
Brisbane Airport’s $5 billion “Future BNE” transformation program includes renovations to its domestic and international terminals, continued planning for a new Terminal 3 precinct, aircraft parking and apron expansions, runway resurfacing, and a new aeromedical facility so medical repatriation and emergency services can be centralised at the airport.
The gateway this year celebrated 100 years in operation, as well as 30 years for its current international terminal.
