Brisbane Airport set for busiest day of the year due to AFL grand final, school holidays
Brisbane Airport is set for its busiest day of the year due to a perfect storm, including the AFL grand final.
QLD News
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Brisbane Airport is set to roar with not just jet planes but tens of thousands of Lions fans in what is shaping as the airport’s busiest day this year – and close to a record.
About 62,000 passengers are tipped to surge through the domestic terminal on Friday in a travel boom sparked by the AFL grand final, Queensland school holiday-makers returning home and the start of NSW school holidays.
Airlines have put on an extra 40 flights to handle the rush, with Qantas also upgrading selected flights from Boeing 737s to bigger Airbus A330 aircraft.
Between Wednesday this week and Monday next week, 75,400 passengers – many of them Lions fans – are expected to travel between Brisbane and Melbourne.
An estimated 81,400 passengers will fly between Brisbane and Sydney as fans seek another way to get to Melbourne.
“Friday would have been busy even without the Lions making the grand final due to the school holiday overlap, but now it is in record breaking territory,” Brisbane Airport spokesman Peter Doherty said.
“Airlines have added 40 additional flights across the period to cope with this surge in demand. And passengers booked on QF621 on Friday are set to receive a special surprise.
“Even though there is a large number of people on the move, our advice to travellers is to arrive the normal 90 minutes prior to your domestic departure, check-in online before you get to the terminal and book car parking in advance.
“And go the Brisbane Lions!”
The current post-pandemic record in the Domestic Terminal was 61,061 passengers on 29 September last year during the Brisbane Broncos and Lions Grand Finals. The all-time record for the Domestic Terminal pre-COVID was 63,525 passengers on Friday, 4 October 2019.
News of the impending busy weekend comes as Lions superfans shared tips on how to secure an unforgettable grand final trip despite skyrocketing flight prices.
Despite airline giants Qantas and Virgin Australia adding more flights to Melbourne, the cost for a weekend getaway to the match still soared to nearly $3000.
Sunshine Coast couple Bob and Dianne Murphy have been fans for the returning finalist for 25 years and shared their secrets – including booking their flights and accommodations in January, saving them $2500.
“We could’ve cancelled (it) and made it a credit for next year,” Ms Murphy said.
“But we’re really so excited that they made it.”
Central Queensland University aviation professor Doug Drury said booking months in advance is a roll of the dice.
“If you’re hoping to get your team to get into the grand final, and if you’re successful, you’ve won a lottery,” he said.
“If your team didn’t make it, you are going to do what the couple said … was to cancel them.
“ … For the airlines, there’s generally a cancellation fee, or we can carry that ticket over to another time.”
Prof Drury said airlines raised the prices because of the psychology of fairness.
“The airlines know that once the two (grand final) teams are determined, they can figure out where the customer base is going to be flying from,” he said.
“ … The airlines know that we have pressure points that we’re either willing to pay or we can’t afford it.
“So they test the waters by pushing the ticket prices up a little bit.”
Prof Drury recommended fans to keep an eye on Saturday for last-minute discounts.
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