Parallel runway at Brisbane Airport gets off to flying start

BRISBANE’S new $1.1 billion parallel runway has taken its first flights – a Virgin plane bound for Cairns and three historic warbirds.

Governor Paul de Jersey, with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, officially cut the ribbon on the decade-long project that promises to give Brisbane Airport capacity on a par with major hubs such as Singapore’s Changi.

The airport is set to become the air passenger and freight gateway to Australia’s east coast.

With capacity to handle 110 flights an hour during peak times, jobs in the airport precinct are forecast to grow from 24,000 to 50,000 in coming decades.

Airport chief Gert-Jan de Graaff said one in 70 Queensland jobs were reliant on or connected to the airport. While flights had fallen by more than 90 per cent since the COVID-19 shutdown, the completed runway put Brisbane and Queensland in the perfect position when international tourism and travel opens back up, he said.

“While current world challenges mean less demand right now, the timing of this opening is fortuitous.

“Had we been any later, the project may have been delayed significantly, creating more burden on the economy and dampening our spirits further. Instead Brisbane is in an ideal position to take advantage of all opportunities on the road to recovery from COVID.”

The final elements of the runway time capsule – a copy of the Sunday Mail and an Indigenous bullroarer – will be held at the Kingsford Smith Memorial until opened in 2070.