A million Reasons for Queensland to Shine

2022-09-14

More than one million people will pass through Brisbane Airport in the two weeks of the upcoming school holidays, as travelers make the most of the spring break.

The peak times in the Domestic Terminal (6am-9am and 5pm-7pm) will be at 100% of pre-Covid levels during the holiday period, with around 57,000 people passing through the terminal on peak days.

The top 5 destinations within Queensland are:

Cairns
Townsville
Mackay
Rockhampton
Proserpine

At the International Terminal, records will tumble, with daily passenger numbers forecast to be the highest since pre-Covid 2019 levels.

A record 12,300 passengers are forecast on peak days, with International Terminal volumes approximately 55% of pre-Covid levels. Up until now, the busiest day since 2019 was last Sunday, with 11,666 passengers.

Flights to Canada, Bali, New Zealand, Fiji and Europe (via Singapore and the Middle East) are experiencing strong demand.

"The numbers reflect what everybody is seeing in their social media feeds. Queenslanders are on the move, ticking off their bucket lists, with thousands venturing overseas for the first time in two or three years," according to Brisbane Airport Spokesperson Stephen Beckett.

With so many people travelling these school holidays, it will be important to plan ahead.

"We’ve seen a surge in the number of people choosing to drive themselves to Brisbane Airport, because they want to be certain of arriving on time. As a result, our car parks are above 90% capacity daily."

Passengers are advised to plan ahead to ensure smooth travelling by:

Arriving at the Domestic Terminal 90 minutes prior to departure
Arriving at the International Terminal 3 hours before their flight
Booking taxi and rideshare in advance as some travelers have reported delays
Booking car parking as far in advance as possible, as demand at BNE has surged with more people opting to drive
Checking in on-line with your airline in advance
Where you can, take carry-on luggage only, although we understand that is not always possible

International capacity will be further boosted in late October, when United Airlines commences direct San Francisco to Brisbane services, further establishing BNE as a hub for Queensland’s job generating tourism industry.