Christmas spirit fills the air at Gold Airport

Passengers at Gold Coast Airport will be treated a host of festive activities planned for the holiday season

HOTA Choir performs at the Gold Coast Airport as part of a host of festive activities planned in the lead-up to Christmas Day.

CHRISTMAS spirit was in the air at Gold Coast Airport thanks to the harmonious voices of the HOTA choir who sung carols in the airport terminal this week.

Passengers dealing with the holiday rush will find some reprieve with the airport offering a mix of entertainment each day in the lead up to December 25, including floating angels and a marching band by spectacular entertainment group, the Sacred Circus.

HOTA Head of Programming Virginia Hyam said they were in partnership with the airport and singing carols to passengers showed their appreciation for the airport’s support.

“They enable this community choir to come together every week at HOTA and rehearse their works and then they do various gigs around the Coast,” Ms Hyam said.

“This is the gift from the choir to the airport to say thank you and for the airport to have some entertainment.

“It was joyous to watch people smile as they collected their bags.”

Gold Coast Airport Chief Operating Officer Marion Charlton said Mr and Mrs Clause would also make an appearance, while some lucky customers could expect some surprise giveaways.

Ms Charlton said the entertainment would add to the buzz in the terminal, with thousands of passengers expected to pass through the gates each day.

“The Gold Coast is Australia’s favourite holiday destination and the Christmas holidays are particularly busy for us at Gold Coast Airport,” she said.

“Christmas is our busiest time of the year and we are expecting our terminal to be at capacity during peak times. To try to make our passengers’ travel experience a little more enjoyable, we are hosting some great activities to inject some festive holiday spirit into terminal operations.”

HOTA Choir performs at the Gold Coast Airport.

Ms Charlton advised passengers travelling over this busy period to plan ahead and give themselves plenty of time to ensure a pleasant journey.

“More than 1.2 million passengers passed through Gold Coast Airport in December and January last summer, with similar numbers expected this year,” she said.

“While our team has planned well in advance for this busy time, we encourage our passengers to do the same and make sure they give themselves plenty of time to get to the airport and pass through the screening points ahead of their flights.

“We also encourage those keen on using our parking, to secure their spot by booking online.

“We wish all of our passengers and customers a happy and safe holiday period.”

Ms Charlton said 2019 had been an extremely busy year, with more of the same expected in 2020.

“This last year was extremely busy, with our hotel and southern terminal expansion projects kicking off and now well underway,” she said.

“Next year we anticipate will be just as busy, with our $50 million Rydges hotel on track to open by the middle of the year, while our $200 million terminal expansion is taking shape by the day, and due for completion by mid-2021.

“Together, these projects form part of a total investment of $500 million in the Gold Coast Airport precinct.”

More than 420 flights pass through Gold Coast Airport each week, including direct links to Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan and four ports in New Zealand, including Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown.

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