From working in tulip fields to running the busiest of airports, Gert-Jann De Graaff has these three work tips
The man guiding Brisbane Airport into the future believes it is about to take off big-time with a new runway and possibly the 2032 Olympics on the horizon
Tell us about your childhood.
I was born and raised in The Hague in The Netherlands until the age of six, when we relocated to Rotterdam. I am the oldest of two brothers. We were a typical middle-class family, who moved about every few years because of my father’s job as the CEO of city councils.
When I was 11, we moved to Leiden. I lived in and around Leiden until I moved to Stockholm in Sweden in 2005 so I consider it to be my hometown in The Netherlands.
Like all Dutch kids I attended the schools closest to where I lived. All schools in the country are public schools and of good
quality. Of course, an important advantage is that all children can walk or cycle to their schools which is good for your health and
the environment and it is very convenient
for parents.
What was your first job and what did you learn?
I probably had my first newspaper round when I was about 11 years old. And throughout my youth I worked school holidays. I did many different things, from working in the tulip fields, restaurants and in a silverware factory, to the well-known flower auction, which was awesome because I was working with my grandfather. Working all these different jobs at an early age with people from all walks of life taught me that work is about three things: respect, work hard, and have fun!
You’ve managed a terminal at JFK in New York. What does BNE (Brisbane Airport) get right?
Since 1995 I have worked at airports in five cities on four continents and there are two things we are doing better at BNE than anywhere else. The first is that we are very good at planning and developing the airport with the guests and customers of the airport central to our focus. That has resulted in an airport with nice, spacious terminals, a generous and diverse retail offer, good access roads, modern car parks, and more than enough capacity for a bright future. The second thing we excel at here in Brisbane is collaboration with all relevant stakeholders. Brisbane Airport is a team performance with and for the community. That is the real secret of our success.
Why have you spent much of your career working in airports?
Because airports are very interesting and relevant. I believe that airports are enablers of economic, social and cultural life and therefore important. And managing and developing airports is not easy. There is a long-term focus required, for example if you are developing a runway you better get it right because it costs $1.3 billion and it will be there for more than 50 years. But an airport is about the short term as well. It is about managing passenger flows and baggage systems and if something goes wrong it’s all hands on deck to fix it. Therefore, the job is very strategic and very operational, and I like to be involved in both. Furthermore, an airport is a big business with shopping centres and a significant property portfolio, so I am also the “mayor” of the airport city, responsible for public safety and security, for example. So every day is different.
What’s you view on the Olympic Games in Queensland?
Attracting the Olympic Games to Queensland would be a game-changer. It would mean that in the next 10-12 years everyone in the world would have Brisbane and Queensland on their radar, which would help us enormously in attracting more visitors and airlines to the region because there are still a lot of people in the world who have never heard of Brisbane.
Furthermore, the Olympics would accelerate the development of transport infrastructure that we need to maintain the liveability of our beautiful region. And let’s not forget it would bring great sports and brilliant athletes to us not only during the Games but also in the years leading up to the Games, to train and to get to know the local conditions.
Would you rather Queensland to host the FIFA World Cup?
I am very passionate about football (the real football you play with your feet …) and it was very unfortunate that the World Cup went to Qatar while it should have come to Australia. But for our region the Olympics are better. It will give us the opportunity to showcase our
city and state and put us on the map. And as a bonus we will get our infrastructure upgrade before 2032.
We hear you’re a big fan of the Roar? What are the greatest lengths you’ve ever gone to watch one of their games?
One of the great things about coming back to Brisbane was that I had the opportunity to see the Roar playing live again. Last season was a bit disappointing, but I am confident we will do better this year. I have seen Roar games in Suncorp and Dolphin Stadium, in Gympie and Toowoomba, and in most of the stadiums of the other A-league teams. But I think the most special story I have is that while I was living in Rio de Janeiro and New York from 20012 to 2018 another big Roar supporter forwarded me DVDs of the games so I could keep following them.
Where was your last holiday?
My last holiday was to The Netherlands to celebrate my father-in-law’s 90th birthday.
The only disadvantage of living in Brisbane is that our family and our old friends are living
on the other side of the world. It was great to
see the “rellies” but you didn’t hear me complaining when I landed back here at Brisbane Airport given that they are heading into winter.
Do you have a motto for work/life?
That is a great question. When I hear a good motto, I write it down so I collected quite a few of them. But to be honest I think my own motto “respect, work hard, have fun!” summarises what I live by best.
Do you only fly first class?
Ha, ha, I work for an airport not an airline. We don’t have perks like that. My only perk is that I can park close to the terminal when I am travelling, except during school holidays because then we need all our parking bays for our guests.
What’s the biggest challenge for BAC in the coming year?
That is without a doubt the completion and opening of our new runway. A lot of people will only see a 3.3km long asphalt strip when the runway is operational mid next year.
But I see years of planning, years of construction, biodiversity zones, community engagement, lots of jobs, etc. I also see a bright future for Brisbane Airport with double the runway capacity which means more flights, more destinations, more choice, and more jobs. This runway will give us the opportunity to double our passenger numbers from 24 million to 50 million and the number of jobs from 24,0000 to 50,000 in the next 20 years.
