Gold Coast Airport

History

Until 1989, the airport was known as Coolangatta Airport. This is an Aboriginal word meaning "Place of Good View". It originally consisted (1936) of three grass strips with the intention of only providing an emergency landing ground for airmail aircraft transiting between Brisbane and Sydney. Passenger flights took off for the first time in 1939 using the then grassy field of the current Coolangatta site. Regular services were started by Queensland Airlines and Butler Air Transport after World War II. Ansett started its own services in 1950 using DC-3s, while Trans Australia Airlines did the same in 1954 using DC-3s, too, as well as DC-4s and Convairs to link other Australian cities.

By 1958, the taxiways and runways were fully paved, with the latter upgraded a decade later to allow jet operations with DC-9 and L-188 Electra aircraft to begin. The current terminal, known as the Eric Robinson Building, was officially opened in 1981 by Acting Prime Minister Douglas Anthony, when at the time more than 650,000 passengers were using the airport. The following year, the main runway was lengthened to 2042 m, thus permitting the use of wide-body jets by the two domestic operators Ansett Australia and Trans Australia Airlines and their Boeing 767 and Airbus A300 respectively on flights from Melbourne and Sydney.

From 1 January 1988, the airport was managed by the Federal Airports Corporation on behalf of the Government. A decade later, on 29 May 1998, the airport was privatised via a long-term lease to Queensland Airports (QAL). By 1999 the company's name had changed to become Gold Coast Airport Pty Ltd (GCAPL). |access-date = 15 February 2008 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120319001524/http://goldcoastairport.com.au/corporate/about-gold-coast-airport/ |archive-date = 19 March 2012 The airport then suffered from the collapse of Ansett in 2001, as Ansett had operated direct services from the Gold Coast to 12 Australian destinations.

In 2003, GCAPL was taken over by QAL, which today also leases and operates Mount Isa Airport, Townsville Airport and Longreach Airport.

Despite the name change from Coolangatta Airport to Gold Coast Airport, the airport retains its original IATA code, OOL and ICAO code, YBCG. The Airport ownership remains with the Government of Australia.

In 1989, the airport welcomed its first international charter service from New Zealand, and by 1999 Air New Zealand low-cost subsidiary Freedom Air started scheduled no-frills service from Hamilton, New Zealand with Boeing 737s. In 2007 the airport celebrated the arrival of AirAsia X, which began services directly to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Tigerair Australia, which started services to Melbourne. Subsequently, the airport has had flights from Air Pacific from Nadi, Fiji. Jetstar to Tokyo and Osaka. Services to New Zealand increased as well, with Jetstar, Air New Zealand and Pacific Blue flying to Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Airnorth also started services to the airport from Darwin, via Mount Isa. In addition, Virgin Blue announced direct services from Canberra and Townsville. This opened up connections between all three Queensland Airports-owned airports – Mount Isa Airport, Townsville Airport and Gold Coast Airport.

2010 saw Jetstar announce the airport as its newest hub, increased services to Cairns and new direct services to Perth (discontinued in 2013) and Queenstown. Tiger Airways also announced their newest base at Avalon Airport in Geelong, and said that services from Avalon to the Gold Coast would commence later in the year; however, services to Adelaide would be cut due to delays in receiving new aircraft which were intended for their new Avalon base.

On 26 October 2010, Gold Coast Airport was named the 2010 Major Airport of the Year 2010 by the Australian Airports Association (AAA).

The Gold Coast Airport served as the official airport of the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

In July 2023, Scoot suspended its Gold Coast route indefinitely, citing operational costs, leaving no direct route between the Gold Coast and Singapore.

On 1 August 2023, Bonza announced it would open its third base at Gold Coast Airport, flying on 14 routes, 11 of which are not flown by other airlines. Bonza launched the new routes starting November 2023, but ceased all operations when it declared bankruptcy in April 2024.

In October 2023, Jetstar replaced its Gold Coast to Tokyo route with Brisbane, to better utilize resources.

On 17 July 2024, AirAsia X announced it was ceasing operations to the Gold Coast from 1 December 2024 due to operational costs. Gold Coast airport now has severely limited international connections. However, despite numerous international service reductions, Gold Coast Airport is the most connected Australian airport with New Zealand by number of direct connections.

Infrastructure

In 2008, the Tugun Bypass opened with a 334 metre tunnel under the runway.

The airport opened an extension to the main runway as well as a full-length parallel taxiway in May 2007. The runway is 2482 m long, allowing for heavier aircraft with greater range to takeoff.

On 16 May 2007, the runway extension was officially inaugurated by Minister for Transport, Mark Vaile.

Gold Coast Airport appointed ADCO Constructions as the principal design and construct contractor for a $100-million redevelopment of the airport's main terminal. Completed in 2010, the project doubled the size of the existing facility to almost 27000 m2, incorporating domestic and international operations with self-service kiosks and 40 common-user check-in desks. The works will accommodate forecast growth for the next 10 years with a further expansion, stage two, scheduled to kick in upon demand. The main terminal – Terminal 1 – currently houses operations for Qantas, Jetstar, Virgin Australia, Rex, Air New Zealand and Scoot.

Before moving to the main terminal, Tigerair Australia flights previously operated from a low-cost terminal with basic amenities, located approximately 200 m from the main terminal building.

An instrument landing system (ILS) was scheduled to be installed at the airport by June 2015 to enable planes to land during adverse weather conditions. It would be a required navigation performance (RNP) system rather than a traditional ILS as this would allow planes to cross the coast at Currumbin rather than Surfers Paradise and therefore fly over fewer houses. The proposed ILS had become an issue with residents concerned with noise. In January 2016 the Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, Warren Truss, approved the installation of an ILS at Gold Coast Airport. Due to ground contamination that was found at the ILS location, it will not be able to be installed before the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Terminal expansion

In 2016 Project LIFT commenced. was an approximate $300 million upgrade featuring two new wide-bodied aircraft stands and a three-level terminal development with four aerobridges and improved ground transport facilities. It enabled up to 19 additional aircraft to take off and touch down.

In July 2019, work began on the 30000 m2 southern terminal expansion. Lendlease was appointed to deliver the project.

By August 2022, much of the expansion work was complete and 400 volunteers participated in a mass trial at the Gold Coast Airport's new terminal on 30 August 2022.

Lounges

Gold Coast Airport has two airline lounges: one, operated by Virgin Australia, has been operational since 30 May 2012, and is available to business class passengers, Virgin Australia lounge members, and Velocity Frequent Flyer Gold and Platinum members. A Qantas Club has been operational at the airport as of 3 December 2012, and is available to business class passengers, Qantas Club members, and Qantas Frequent Flyer Gold and Platinum members.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

The following airlines operate scheduled and in some cases chartered passenger flights from Gold Coast Airport. All passenger airlines operate flights from the main terminal (T1) with the exception of Seair Pacific, which operates from their own hangar in the general aviation part of the airport and Eastern Air Services which operates from the General Aviation apron.

|Air New Zealand | Auckland, Christchurch |Eastern Air Services | Lord Howe Island, Port Macquarie |Fiji Airways | Nadi (begins 11 June 2026) |FlyPelican | Newcastle |Jetstar | Adelaide, Auckland, Avalon, Cairns, Canberra, Christchurch, Denpasar, Dunedin, Hamilton, Hobart, Melbourne, Newcastle, Perth, Queenstown, Sydney, Wellington Seasonal: Darwin |Qantas | Auckland (begins 16 June 2026), Melbourne, Sydney |Seair Pacific | Hervey Bay, Lady Elliot Island, Redcliffe |Virgin Australia | Adelaide, Canberra, Denpasar, Melbourne, Sydney

The nearest international airport is Brisbane Airport, which provides 35 direct international destinations to Asia, New Zealand, North America, South Pacific, and the Middle East. The airport is located 110 km north west of Gold Coast Airport.

Cargo

The following airlines operate scheduled cargo flights from Gold Coast Airport.

|Qantas Freight | Sydney

Qantas Freight uses the cargo space of Jetstar aircraft to transport cargo domestically. It is also contracted for Jetstar international flights and Air New Zealand flights from the airport. It offers same day/overnight and standby services domestically airport to airport and airport to door from Gold Coast Airport. All cargo services operate from the Freight Terminal. Coast Cargo is a registered Cargo Terminal Operator (CTO) and currently handles Virgin Australia. It is also the agent for Toll Air Express.

Statistics

Total annual passengers

Domestic

International

Public transportation

Road

The airport is located on the western side of the Gold Coast Highway in Bilinga, the terminal is 300 metres from the highway. The Gold Coast Highway passes through all the coastal suburbs of the city and is the most direct route to most of the major holiday destinations on the Gold Coast.

The Pacific Motorway (M1) interchange is 1.5 km south of the airport just over the NSW border in Tweed Heads West. The Pacific Motorway connects the city to Northern NSW, Gold Coast's western suburbs, and Brisbane CBD.

Public bus

All bus services are operated by Kinetic Gold Coast.

• Route 777 (northbound) – Broadbeach South light rail station via Gold Coast Highway. This service is a limited stop, express service only. From there, passengers can connect to other bus services and the G:link.
• 760 (northbound) – Robina Town Centre via Varsity Lakes railway station and The Pines Shopping Centre.
• Route 760 (north & southbound) – Tweed Heads via Kirra and Coolangatta.

Airport shuttles

There are a number of private operators offering transfers between Gold Coast Airport and Brisbane. Scheduled transfers are available for arriving and departing passengers.

Train

The Gold Coast City Transport Strategy 2031 includes an extension of the G:link light rail to the airport, while the South East Queensland Infrastructure Plan and Program envisions extending the Gold Coast Line train line to the airport. As of 2025, neither have been approved to begin construction.

Accidents and incidents

Main article: 1949 Queensland Airlines Lockheed Lodestar crash

In March 1949, a Lockheed Lodestar aircraft became airborne at Bilinga airstrip for a flight to Archerfield Airport. Before reaching a height of 500 ft it stalled and crashed. All 21 occupants died in the crash or the ensuing conflagration. It was Queensland's worst civil aviation accident.

Awards

Gold Coast Airport received the "best airport award for customer experience" at the 2018 National Airport Industry Awards hosted by the Australian Airports Association in Brisbane.

References

References

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