Gold Coast Airport: $500m expansion to include 14 new shops
A new “signature” bar will be the centrepiece of the $500 million expansion of the Gold Coast Airport, which will include 14 new shops. WHAT'S PLANNED.
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A new “signature” bar will be the centrepiece of the $500m expansion of the Gold Coast Airport.
The new terminal will have aerobridges, a second level and 14 new shops to cater to the increasing number of travellers passing through its doors.
It will open later this year.
Queensland Airports CEO Chris Mills said fitting out of the retail mecca would begin after tenders were awarded this week.
“We are set to welcome experienced operators WH Smith and HMSHost to Gold Coast Airport and to continue our partnership with Airport Retail Enterprises (ARE),” he said.
“This retail refresh is the missing piece for Gold Coast Airport and will further improve the experience for our passengers, as travel rebuilds and connections are re-established.
“Guests will be able to enjoy something delicious to eat and drink, while looking out at the spectacular Gold Coast and NSW hinterland, before they take off on their next journey.”
New tenants inside the terminal will include:
- The Wollumbin, a “signature cafe and bar with a menu curated by local executive chef Matt Jefferson
- Schnitz, the first of its kind in an Australian airport.
- A “bespoke bookshop and cafe bar” developed by Burleigh’s Golosi Food Emporium.
- A children’s store.
- A news, book, convenience and souvenir outlet.
- A range of restaurants with “Mediterranean, fresh food, sushi and Asian themes”.
The existing Hungry Jack’s will remain open.
First look: Inside Airport’s $500m expansion
October 11, 2021: Construction of the Gold Coast Airport’s $500 million expansion will ramp up ahead of international travel resuming, with long-awaited aero bridges to be installed before Christmas.
The shell of the 30,000 sqm expansion is already underway, with the interior fit-out set to be sped up to have the terminal completed in early 2022 before millions of visitors begin flooding back into the country.
Queensland Airports CEO Chris Mills said the expansion would set the city’s gateway up for the future, at a time when the tourism industry would be rebuilding from the impacts of Covid-19.
“The terminal expansion will connect seamlessly with the existing terminal, via a system that swings between domestic and international passenger arrivals and departures,” he said.
“All of our passengers, whether they use the existing or new building, will continue to enjoy quick and easy access and a warm welcome from our team.
“The airport needs to be ready to accommodate the growth in demand for our region, as travel ramps back up next year.”
Mr Mills said he expected the region to be at the top of visitation list for travel-starved tourists from across the globe.
“Once we get clarity on the reopening plans for Queensland, we can plan with confidence for the recovery in travel,” he said.
“Prior to Covid there were international links between the Gold Coast and Singapore, Korea, Japan, Malaysia and four New Zealand cities and we need connections to be quickly re-established when restrictions come to an end, and are working closely with our airline partners to explore new market opportunities.
“We continued with this project, despite the devastating impacts of travel restrictions on our business, because of our confidence in the Gold Coast.”
The terminal’s passenger numbers are sitting at about five per cent of pre pandemic levels when it had 420 flights a week.
The Gold Coast’s tourism industry lost more than $4 billion in 2020. Another $1 billion was wiped during the July-September quarter alone on the back of closed borders, two snap lockdowns of southeast Queensland and the long-running lockdowns of NSW, Victoria and the ACT.
Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of events have been lost including the annual GC 500 motorsport carnival.
Tourism operators are already tipping a tough run into Christmas, with no clarity over when internal borders will reopening.
New features of the airport’s new three-level terminal will include doubling the existing building’s floor space, four glass aerobridges, additional retail space and a large departure lounge.
The terminal expansion will have created about 2000 jobs across three years when it is completed, with up to 200 workers onsite during peak construction times.
McPherson MP and Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews said the airport expansion, which received federal funding, would be critical to the reopening of the tourism industry.
“Before the pandemic, the Australian Border Force facilitated more than one million international passenger movements a year through the Gold Coast Airport, and I for one am looking forward to welcoming even more once we reopen,” she said.
“Now, as we get closer to safely reopening domestic and international borders, I can’t wait to see more and more people back through Gold Coast Airport; reuniting family and friends, and supporting Gold Coast tourism and hospitality operators and the local jobs they generate.”
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