Brisbane Airport is an international airport serving Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The airport services 31 airlines flying to 50 domestic and 29 international destinations, amounting to over 23 million passengers who travelled through the airport in 2024. In 2016, it was named as the fifth-best performing airport in the world for on-time performance, with 87% of arrivals and departures occurring within 15 minutes of their scheduled times. It covers an area of , making the airport one of the largest by land area in Australia.
Brisbane Airport is a hub for both Qantas and Virgin Australia as well as an operating base for numerous airlines including Jetstar, having the third highest number of domestic connections in Australia after Sydney and Melbourne, followed by Adelaide. It is also home to line-maintenance facilities for Qantas' Airbus A330 and Boeing 737 fleet,Milestone for Qantas Brisbane Heavy Maintenance Facility . Qantas.com.au (1 April 2004). Retrieved on 20 November 2010. Virgin Australia's Boeing 737 fleet,> News and Press Releases . Virgin Australia. Retrieved on 20 November 2010. as well as Alliance Airlines, and QantasLink. The airport has dedicated, domestic, international, cargo, and general aviation terminals, as well as two runways.
There are several operators of emergency medical retrieval and rescue services based at the airport including LifeFlight Australia and AVCAIR, the Royal Flying Doctor Service also has one of its nine Queensland bases at Brisbane Airport. Defunct airlines JetGo and Tigerair Australia also operated from Brisbane Airport until their demises in 2018 and 2020, respectively.
History Eagle Farm Airport
Brisbane's first airport was Eagle Farm Airport that was built in 1925 on former agricultural land in the suburb of Eagle Farm located north-east of the Brisbane central business district, south-west of Brisbane Airport's Domestic Terminal. Although Qantas started operations there in 1926, most of the flights in Brisbane operated at the Archerfield Airport, which contained a superior landing surface. While in operation, Charles Kingsford Smith landed at Eagle Farm on 9 June 1928, after completing the first trans-pacific flight in his Fokker F.VII, the Southern Cross. There is now a museum containing the original aircraft, along with a memorial located within the Brisbane Airport precinct.
During World War II, Brisbane was the headquarters of the Supreme Commander of Allied forces in the South West Pacific Area, General Douglas MacArthur. The United States Armed Forces upgraded the airfield (Eagle Farm Airport) to cater for military flights, bringing it to such a standard that it became the main civilian airport for the city.
By the 1960s, the facilities at Eagle Farm Airport were inadequate for a city of Brisbane's size and anticipated growth. Many long-haul international services to Asia were required to make an en route stop (e.g., at Darwin), disadvantaging the city to lure prospective carriers and business opportunities.
Some of the infrastructure at Eagle Farm Airport was incorporated into today's Brisbane Airport. For example, the north-east end of the main runway (04/22) survives as taxiway Papa of the present airport, while the Eagle Farm international terminal is now the Brisbane Airport cargo terminal. The final flight from the Eagle Farm Airport departed on 20 March 1988.
1988 opening
The Federal Government announced the construction of Brisbane Airport to be built immediately north east of Eagle Farm Airport. Construction commenced in June 1980. The new airport was built by Barclay Brothers at a cost of $400 million and opened on 19 March 1988, with a new domestic terminal and two runways. The opening was hosted by Prime Minister Bob Hawke. The new airport was built on the former Brisbane residential suburb of Cribb Island that was demolished to make way for the airport. Large amounts of sand were pumped from nearby Moreton Bay to raise the swamp land above the tidal range.
The 1988 facilities included: a domestic terminal; state-of-the-art maintenance facilities; freight apron at the existing passenger terminal; two runways ( and ) with parallel taxiway systems (cater for Code F+ aircraft); access roads; parking facilities and a tall air traffic control tower.
In September 1995, the international terminal was inaugurated by Prime Minister Paul Keating, and it has been expanded since that time.Federal politicians flock to Queensland on a mission of seduction Canberra Times 6 September 1995 page 2
Privatisation In 1997, as part of the privatisation of numerous Australian airports, the airport was acquired for $1.4 billion from the Federal Airports Corporation by Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) under a 50-year lease (with an option to renew for a further 49 years). The original BAC shareholders were Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Brisbane City Council, Commonwealth Bank and Port of Brisbane Corporation.First three airports sold Australian Aviation issue 129 June 1997 page 6Regulatory Report: Brisbane Airport 1997/98 Australian Competition & Consumer Commission March 1999 Since that time, BAC has assumed ultimate responsibility for the operations of Brisbane Airport including all airport infrastructure investment with no government funding. As at January 2024, the major shareholders were Queensland Investment Corporation (29%), Igneo Infrastructure Partners (27%), Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (20%) and IFM Investors (20%).Company Structure Brisbane Airport Corporation Brisbane Airport is categorised as a Leased Federal Airport.Leased Federal Airports, Australian Government Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development (accessed 4 September 2014)
New parallel runway
On 18 September 2007, the federal government granted approval for the construction of a new parallel runway. The proposed $1.3 billion, runway was expected to take approximately eight years to construct and was constructed on swamp land west of the existing terminal area and parallel to the existing main runway. The long construction period was due to the settling period of the of sand fill dredged from Moreton Bay. In early December 2014 the delivery of of sand to the site was completed. In 2019, asphalting of the second runway had begun and was completed by late 2019, while mid February 2020 saw the start of the line-marking of the runway.
On 30 March 2020, runway 14/32 was decommissioned early as part of Brisbane's new runway 'Operational Readiness & Testing' phase so that the newly decommissioned cross runway could be used for aircraft parking.
In mid-2020, construction of a new runway was completed. Its first flight was operated by Virgin Australia, flight VA781 to Cairns, on 12 July 2020.
Terminals Brisbane Airport has two passenger terminals.
International terminal
The international terminal was built in 1995 and has 14 bays with aerobridges, four of these are capable of handling A380s. There are also four layover bays. The terminal has four levels: level 1 houses most airline offices and baggage handlers, level 2 handles arrivals, level 3 houses the departure lounge (airside) and other offices (landside), and level 4 houses departure check-in.
The airport contains an Emirates lounge, the first outside Dubai that has direct access to the A380 aerobridges, and also has Air New Zealand, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Aspire and Plaza Premium lounges.
There is also a five-storey long term carpark and a smaller short term carpark in close proximity to the terminal.
The international terminal redevelopment began in February 2014. The $45 million redevelopment is designed by Brisbane architectural practices Richards and Spence and Arkhefield. Queensland artists, Sebastian Moody and Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda Sally Gabori, were commissioned for the artworks.
Domestic terminal Brisbane Airport's domestic terminal is a two-storey curved building with three complete satellite arms extending beyond the building providing additional passenger lounge and gate facilities for airlines.
The domestic terminal has three distinct areas serving Qantas and QantasLink at the northern end of the building and Virgin Australia at the southern end of the building with other carriers such as Jetstar located in the central area of the terminal.
The Qantas concourse has nine bays served by aerobridges including one served by a dual bridge. It has three lounges – The Qantas Club, Business Class and Chairman's Lounge. Virgin Australia occupies what was previously the Ansett Australia end of the terminal. Its concourse has 11 parking bays, nine of which are served by aerobridges including two served by a dual bridge. It has two lounges – the Virgin Australia Lounge which is located in the former Golden Wing Club opposite Gate 41 and the Beyond Lounge.
Remote bays are located to the north and south of the building (serving non-jet aircraft), and in the central area (serving jet aircraft).
On 27 February 2014, Qantas announced it had disposed of its long-term lease (signed in 1987) at the domestic terminal which was due to expire on 30 December 2018. Under the new arrangements, Qantas retains exclusive use and operational control over much of the northern end of the terminal until the end of 2018 while securing rights to key infrastructure beyond this period.
Future third terminal As early as November 2022, the size, location, and design of Terminal 3 was under discussion, which would be situated between the two runways. This was also included in the Brisbane Airport Master Plan 2020. As of September 2024, plans had begun for a terminal three development. The third terminal will reportedly service both domestic and international flights. It is projected to be opened by the 2030s to accommodate the future demands of population growth.
AVCAIR FBO & VIP Lounge and Brisbane Jet Base Brisbane has two FBO Lounge and Operation Facilities, located on the North Apron (Brisbane Jet Base) and South Logistics Apron (AVCAIR FBO) of Brisbane Airport. The AVCAIR facility handles VIP and FIFO (fly-in fly-out) movements including Ad hoc Military, Medical and Charter flights and offers direct airside access for VIP movements.
Airlines and destinations Passenger
Qantas operates dedicated 'flightseeing' services over Antarctica from Brisbane, with Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. Departing Brisbane from the Domestic Terminal and providing a guided aerial tour of Antarctica before returning to Australia, these flights are about thirteen hours in total.
Cargo
Statistics
Brisbane Airport's annual passenger numbers were 23.1 million in 2017. This is expected to grow to around 50 million by 2035.
Total annual passengers