Gold Coast Airport

My wife and I flew into here morning after a Scoot flight from SIN. I can't help but reinforce the reviews before me. We also encountered the long queues in the duty free immigration baggage was a joke. It took over an hour to get our bags to turn around and find another line for customs. We will never fly Scoot again as this is their airport.

Recently used this airport having not been here in about 5 years. They have done a major upgrade since then. I arrived on a Thursday evening and was off the plane and in my hire car in a matter of a few minutes - all good and smooth. The terminal is small so it was easy with the rental cars right outside the front door. However the return journey the next day was the exact opposite. I checked in and went to the Security Screening area. I was flying Business Class and was delighted to note there was a separate lane for Business/Platinum passengers especially as the queues were enormous. However despite the red carpet and gold railings for the priority queue this system was not being manned and this entry point was one of the two that had the enormous queue. I tried to get towards the front to see if the staff would push me through but they were far away and ignored you. I saw several other people try to find the entrance to the "fast track" security clearance but it did not work for them either. Normally this would be nothing more than an irritant but on this occasion it was a lot more than that. The queues were enormous and after spending 20 minutes in the queue my flight was starting to board and I had to ask to be let to the front of the queue which the people in front were agreeable to. I estimate it would have taken about another 10 minutes to clear Security otherwise i.e. a total of 30 minutes. Normally to get to the Gold Coast I fly to Brisbane and hire a car - I will return to that and recommend others do the same.

This is an airport fresh from major renovations and for domestic flights it works. However for international flights it is abysmal. In the mornings there are 4 international flights arriving within minutes of each other. 3 wide bodied dual aisle aircraft from Asian destinations and a smaller aircraft from NZ. The inbound duty free area is ridiculously small and acts more of a choke point for the long queues in immigration with people collecting duty free obstructing Australian passport holders from moving through. There are only 2 baggage carousels despite the 4 flights meaning that the baggage from my flight could not be unloaded onto the carousel as it was jam packed with bags from the slightly earlier Jetstar from Osaka. The Japanese owners of these bags could not collect them because they were stuck waiting for the single immigration official to clear them into Australia. It was over an hour after exiting the aircraft before my bag showed itself. Then faced another jammed line through customs.

This airport is very inefficient. The queues in this airport to check in and through customs and immigration are incredibly long and slow. The terminal isn't very clean especially the toilets and the facilities are appalling; no aerobridges little transport to and from the airport very crowded when the big international flights come in and food options are limited especially in the international section. It is an incredibly bad airport and no visitor or Australian arriving in Australia should have to put up with this. Most third world countries that i have visited have far better airports than this.

No aerobridges toilets dirty baggage took almost 2 hrs to finally arrive customs was slow a loud annoying alarm was going off for 10 mins and once in the international section there are no shops except one extremely overpriced cafe.

It's come a long way and what is offered at the terminal is pretty good. They were clever in the design of the new terminal and there's a good range of shops. That keeps the passenger happy. It does feel like a low-cost airport terminal probably because it is primarily served by Jetstar and Virgin Blue. It's a great airport that serves it purpose and I've never had any issues relating to delays unfriendly staff or anything of the like. So all in all a happy customer.

Now that the renovations are complete Gold Coast airport is in far better shape plenty of space and eating places the Jetstar Lounge is excellent value for money. No queues and plenty of parking.

Arrived from Melbourne on Jetstar and departed with 2 adults and 2 kids. Lack of aerobridges is not really a problem provided weather is good - puts you in holiday mood! Arrival was very easy - we were one of last to leave plane and bags were on carousel by the time we reached it. There is construction going on but did not affect us. Arrivals area is small but adequate for one aircraft at a time. It was school holidays and flight was full. Met by friend who had parked in car park - $3 for over 1 hour! Sydney and Melbourne airports please take note that people will use car parks if they are not ripped off!. Departure was also very easy although check in area was a little cramped. Understand they are building new area. Less than 5 minutes to check in and security check quick but efficient. Used new Jetstar lounge. Prices in terminal for food slightly high but good range to suit all needs. boarding quick via rear airstairs.

This airport is in the middle of renovations so half is new and shiny and the other half looks like something from a 1950s torture chamber. The new section of the domestic terminal seems adequate enough but check in needs some major work - hopefully it will come soon. Apart from the lack of aerobridges it seems adequate enough.

There are no covered walkways from the aircraft to the terminal. They have just finished renovations but the sound system for announcements is atrocious. Signage is terrible but luckily the airport is only small so eventually you'll find what you're looking for. The information booths are not always manned. Very difficult for first time visitors. Public transport leaves a lot to be desired. There is an airport shuttle bus to the highway bus stop. It runs every fifteen minutes. but it is not coordinated with the main bus run on the highway. You can wait 1 hour for a bus to Surfers Paradise.