It’s been a long time coming, but Qantas and Perth Airport have finally come to an agreement on moving Qantas to Airport Central. The agreement will see Qantas and Jetstar services moved new terminal facilities. At that time all of the major operators will be operating out of facilities near the current T1 and T2 terminals.
As the new terminal is not expected to be open until 2031, the airport will upgrade the current home of Qantas in Terminals 2 and 3. This will allow it to expand operations in Perth while the new terminal is built.
It’s not all about terminals though. Perth Airport has reaffirmed its commitments to some previously announced projects. These projects include two new car parks, a new parallel runway, and a hotel located near the terminals.
The new Terminal
Perth Airport is aiming to have the new Terminal open in 2031. At that time, Qantas and Jetstar will move their operations across to their new home in Perth. Qantas and Perth Airport will collaborate to provide the new experience for its passengers. This will include seamless domestic and international transfer together with state of the art check in and bag drop facilities.
One the lounge front, there are plans for a lounge precinct to cater for international and domestic passengers. This will be a new design, and will include dining and wellness initiatives.
In the meantime…
Of course, 2031 is 7 years away, so there will be some interim steps along the journey. The most immediate change will see Jetstar relocate its current operations in Terminal 3 and 4 across to Terminal 2. This move will take place in September.
At the same time, the current Terminal 3 and 4 facilities will be upgraded to allow Qantas to operate additional flights. From mid-2024, the airline is hoping to add new services from Perth to Auckland and Johannesburg. On top of that, the current gates will get upgrades in order to handle new aircraft such as the A350. Qantas currently expects to take delivery of these aircraft from 2026.
In announcing the new deal with Perth Airport, Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson said
This is the largest airport infrastructure deal in our history. It will enable us to create a world-class western hub and significantly expand our domestic and international services over the short, medium and long term.
“Not only will it allow us to bring hundreds of thousands more travellers to and through Western Australia each year, it will also make it easier for overseas tourists to connect to more destinations across Australia.
“Perth-London and Perth-Rome are two of the most popular flights on our international network, which gives us confidence in our strategy to ramp up WA flying over the next few years as we receive new aircraft and grow our fleet.
“The additional flying will see us create an estimated 700 new jobs in Western Australia across pilots, crew, engineering and airport staff.
“With the launch of Perth-Paris in July and Jetstar’s new services into Asia starting later this year, we have a pipeline of growth underway that will mean Perth is on track to become our second biggest international gateway behind Sydney.”
Final Words
It’s good to see that Qantas and Perth Airport have finally buried the hatchet and come to an agreement on a new terminal for Qantas. It’s been a long time plan to bring all the operations together in one central location. Qantas and Perth Airport seem to have been talking about it for years.
It will bring to an end some of the inconveniences that arise from the current situation. Even much of the public infrastructure, such as the trains, were designed with a single terminal location in mind.
