Airport traffic takes off

But extra demand bringing ‘stress, overcrowding’

ryan.keen@news.com.au (QAL) aerodromes at Townsville, Mount Isa and Longreach. Domestic arrivals for the Gold Coast were up 7.1 per cent and internationals soared 9.6 per cent.

QAL CEO Chris Mills said the strong numbers, across school holidays and Easter, reflected the strength of leisure markets across QAL ports.

“The Gold Coast continues to show why it is the destination of choice for Australians and international visitors. 2018 COMMONWEALTH GAMES HOST CITY

“The ongoing growth of passenger numbers has been great but continues to put more pressure on the airport. There is no doubt the terminal is under stress and overcrowded at various times of the day.”

Gold Coast Airport’s Project LIFT terminal expansion will see it almost double in size before the Commonwealth Games next year, and Mr Mills said it couldn’t “come soon enough”.

“We have been working on strategies to alleviate some congestion. We recently introduced self-service check-in kiosks and automated bag drop facilities which have reduced queue times at check-in.”

Mr Mills said April’s 7.1 per cent growth in domestic traffic came from a number of markets, in particular Melbourne.

“Internationally, we saw close to 10 per cent growth, assisted by Hong Kong Airlines increasing capacity and more services to Kuala Lumpur.”

Surfers Paradise tourism operators yesterday reported seeing some benefit during the past month from the increased year-on-year numbers.

Ripley’s Believe it Or Not! boss Lisa Tucker said last month’s trade was up on April 2016 but qualified that by saying Easter fell in March last year so 2016’s April was never going to be as good business wise.

“But we did better this year than last year and the year before that,” she said.