Perth Airport in Australia is starting construction work on its A$5bn (US$3.4bn) capital investment program of infrastructure projects that are intended to provide the capacity for Western Australia’s growing aviation sector and passenger base. The project list includes two multi-story car parks, a new terminal, an expanded international terminal, the airport’s first-ever airport hotel and a new runway.
Jason Waters, CEO of Perth Airport, commented, “Our aim is to ensure all future infrastructure connects seamlessly into the current airport operations. This means passengers will start to see a number of projects getting underway at the airport and in most cases either in the terminal or at its front door.”
Perth Airport’s first multi-story car park
One of the first major projects to get started is the first multi-story car park. The airport has had to close off a significant number of parking bays within the T1 short-term parking lot so that work can start. The airport highlights that its team is working to ensure bays are always available for those picking up or dropping off passengers – but they may be a little further away from the terminal and have a longer walk than usual.
“We ask passengers to allow extra time and to plan your journey – this includes making sure you are heading to the right terminal,” Waters said, “When planning your journey to the airport there are also many options to consider – the Airport Central Train Station provides access to a skybridge that connects you directly to the front of Terminal 1.
“You can also book your parking ahead of time in any of our long-term car parks – which will provide you with discounts while ensuring you have a bay in the right precinct when you arrive. As we work toward consolidating all services into one location in Airport Central, there will be many changes at the airport – starting with Jetstar’s domestic services being relocated to T2 from 2 September – so please double-check your ticket and itinerary as you don’t want to end up in the wrong place.”
Passenger growth
In financial year 2024, Perth Airport recorded more than 16 million passengers for the first time ever, with 156,756 aircraft movements in the same period, and the airport predicts that these numbers will grow rapidly over the coming decade.
Water said, “This is great news for the tourism, resource and export sectors – but it means we now need to get on with the work of building new infrastructure to support this growth. This is a truly transformative period for Perth Airport, but as we know, with this level of work there will be some pain for passengers during construction.”
In related news, Perth Airport recently signed a 12-year agreement with Qantas to resolve all outstanding commercial issues in dispute and to invest around A$3bn (US$2bn) in a new terminal and parallel runway. Click here to read the full story.