General News
24 February, 2023
It’s up, up and away for $50m airport redesign
USERS of Cairns Airport’s international terminal are welcoming a long-awaited $40-$50 million upgrade – the first in 30 years.
Works are set to begin in March and will be rolled out in stages to minimise disruptions to passengers.
A leading international airline and a foremost city travel agent are delighted with the start of the works.
Singapore Airlines public affairs and government relations regional manager Karl Schubert said the airline was excited about the redevelopment.
“Singapore Airlines is proud to connect Tropical North Queensland with the world via our Cairns-Singapore services. We look forward to seeing the refurbished Cairns Airport, and the enhanced travel experience it will bring to our customers,” he said.
“We will continue to work with Cairns Airport authorities to minimise the disruption to our customers during the refurbishment.” Mercedes Travel commended the renovations.
“This is extremely long overdue for Cairns, I believe we have the most dated terminal in Australia,” said Mercedes Travel founder and travel services specialist Mercedes Gonzalez.
“There are not sufficient facilities for the market at Cairns Airport; we don’t have lounges, bars, the fact that we even have carpet in our terminal already rings many bells.
“Even its outlook it’s going to make a big difference to us selling tickets out of Cairns. This is an absolute bonus for Cairns, people are not just looking for flights, they’re looking for an overall experience.”
White Rock resident and recent terminal user Rob Goodwin said the redevelopment would improve tourists’ experience.
“I had no trouble using the terminal since I had very little luggage, my biggest struggle was finding transport and I was surprised at how expensive it was compared to Bali,” Mr Goodwin said.
“I think the redevelopment is going to involve people with tourism on all levels, it will get people talking positively about the new airport terminal, so I’m excited about it, I think it’s great.”
Cairns CBD resident and traveller Berta Perez-Bermudez said the redevelopment was not as important as solving understaffing issues in the terminal.
“It’s not like the building is falling apart,” she said.
“Although the baggage claim was really efficient, the customs line was too long and there was only one person taking care of the whole flight.
“It’s not a bad thing getting renovations, new floors, painting on the walls and more spaces, but I think it’s more important to get more staff to speed up the process within the terminal.”
Cairns Airport chief executive Richard Barker said the terminal would be transformed into a space that reflected the region’s atmosphere.
“Nearly 30 years after the international terminal was first opened, we’re happy to announce that we’re going to start a significant refurbishing of the terminal,” he said.
“This includes four new glass airbridges so when our international visitors arrive, they will immediately see the mountains and the beautiful landscape.
“The first part of the project, which will take about 14 months, will be the check-in and arrivals area.
“We’re working with architects to create a real sense of place, so it reflects the beautiful area of Far North Queensland where we live; the Reef and the rainforest.
“For the first part, the famous blue carpet will be removed in April, and we intend to have the first stage largely done by Christmas this year, in time for the rebuilding of international tourism,” he said.
The terminal’s redevelopment will be rolled out in three stages. The first stage will take 14 months and includes a complete refurbishment of the check-in and arrival areas with new escalators, elevators, bathrooms, and artwork; the terminal’s façade will also be retouched.
Stage two aims to increase capacity for arrivals with new baggage reclaim belts.
“We’ll be replacing all of the baggage belts with larger belts that can handle all the bags from a large international plane,” Mr Barker said.
“And the last stage will be a refurbishment of the international departures area.”
A total of $40-$50 million will be invested in the upgrade and represents a commitment to the return of international tourism to the region.
“As international tourism has started to come back, we see good signs of confidence,” Mr Barker said.
“We thought it’s an appropriate time for us to invest, and we’re committed to this building for the future.
“We’re really excited that it’s going to create about 100 local jobs for the first phase of the project, and we want to have a facility that Cairns locals can be proud of.”
The complete project will take about three years, but it has been set to minimise disturbances to international terminal users.
Hutchinson Builders are the main contractors and team leader Kyle Hare said it was an exciting project for the company. He said the firm was looking forward to contributing to “the redevelopment of this important space”.
