Latest news and insights from Australia’s airports

Adelaide Airport terminal expansion welcomes iconic brands

Iconic home-grown Australian brands and identities are part of the new retail and dining offering unveiled at Adelaide Airport’s expanded terminal this week. The first stage of the expanded terminal officially opened on Wednesday 26 February, with six new retailers opening their stores. Adelaide Airport Managing Director Mark Young said the newly constructed retail concourse was part of the airport’s first major expansion since the current terminal was opened in 2005, and ...

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Airport apps a thing of the past

The airport app is dead, long live the chatbot or virtual assistant. Brisbane Airport head of technology Dirk Hus told the Australian Airports Association national conference on the Gold Coast that his airport had recently implemented a chatbot in Messenger and Twitter. Acknowledging that airports were lagging other industries when it came to chatbots, Hus said passengers could chat to the virtual assistant and it would provide information on flights, retail and ...

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Culture and values keep Vancouver Airport at the top

Global tech giants, the latest social media platform and some of the world’s most recognised consumer brands are usually what we expect to see on best-loved companies lists. But not in British Columbia (BC). Vancouver International Airport is the third best-loved brand in the province and has been ranked by Skytrax as the best airport in North America for 10 years in a row. It has been named one of BC’s top ...

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Essendon Fields’ new look gives nod to proud heritage

The clean lines of a refurbished terminal have given what was the original international arrival point for the then Melbourne Airport a new lease on life, while paying homage to its storied past. Essendon Fields was Melbourne’s main airport until 1970, when the mantle was assumed by Tullamarine. But it remains a crucial hub for private jets, regional passenger operations and the emergency services sector with 50,000 aircraft movements a year. The refurbishment ...

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Driver demand and the autonomous future of airport parking

Airports will need to start planning now for a future where autonomous vehicles will fundamentally change the landscape of airport car parking. That’s the message from an L.E.K. report on the future of car parking, which predicts connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) will see a decline in car parking demand post 2040. In the meantime, the report finds airports are already responding to changing behaviour by airport visitors that now have more ...

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Local produce the hero in Canberra Airport refresh

Canberra Airport is undertaking a complete refresh and significant expansion of its retail, food and beverage offering in a move its head of property Richard Snow calls the last piece of the airport puzzle. Central to the revamp is a significant focus on local companies designed to showcase the quality food, beverages, gifts and produce available in the Canberra region. “We’re going from four stores to nine total on the domestic departures ...

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Passenger stories bring NT experience to life

Visual artist Tamara Howie has been surprised by the breadth of stories people have shared during her creative residency at Darwin International Airport. Howie’s residency, part of the airport’s innovative Green Room program, combines her skills of writing, art and photography. She expected people to have a quick chat in passing as she collected stories for her project. Instead, she found people intrigued by the project that began in May. [socialpug_tweet tweet="“People have ...

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Expansion project lifts Gold Coast growth plans

The Gold Coast has sun, fun and sand but there’s one thing Australia’s playground has been needing for some time: expanded airport terminal facilities. That’s now well on its way thanks to a deal signed with property and infrastructure giant Lendlease to proceed with the next phase of Gold Coast Airport’s $370 million airport redevelopment, Project LIFT. The airport achieved the project’s first milestone in time for the successful Commonwealth Games in ...

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Airshow provides backdrop for pitch for new services

If it was a hectic 2018 for Melbourne Avalon Airport chief executive Justin Giddings, it was an even busier start to 2019 as he juggled Air Asia-X’s new double daily services with the airport’s world-renowned Australian International Airshow. The first AirAsia X Airbus A330 touched down at the airport on 5 December to cap off what Giddings describes as an “extraordinary” year. It saw the airport perform a quick turnaround after Kuala ...

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Digital future brings new solutions, but ignore the hype

Start with the problem you want to solve and then work out whether technology will solve it for you. That’s the advice from digital futurist Hugh Bradlow who also worries too many people are getting taken in by hype. Dr Bradlow told the recent Australian Airports Association national conference in Brisbane that people who tried to apply a technology such as artificial intelligence where it wasn’t applicable would be disappointed. “And you’ll make ...

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