Gold Coast Airport

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.

I've passed through this airport 7 times in the past 2 months & have been able to compare the original airside arrival/departure facilities with those newly opened. The latter are long overdue & far superior being lighter more spacious and with a much better range of food and drink outlets. On the negative side watching many newly arrived passengers wandering aimlessly through the building looking for the baggage arrival area suggests that signage needs to be improved. Having been caught twice in heavy rain while crossing between the aircraft and terminal buildings I can't understand why the renovations apparently do not appear to include any plans to install aerobridges to protect the presumably significant number of passengers from the vagaries of the Gold Coast weather. The check-in areas had yet to be renovated on my last visit & remain somewhat dark and dingy.

While the facilities are small and adequate (cafe duty free shops etc) travellers should note that you may experience delays getting through security and immigration checks. A vast number of travellers (on the day I departed with Air Asia to KUL) appeared not to be aware of the increased security checks for flights and in turn caused delays & extensive queues. Please also note that you may experience a 400m walk from the terminal to your aircraft across an uncovered walkway.

This airport can be reached by local public buses that connect to other routes in a side access road to the Gold Coast Highway. Do this and you will save significant sums on expensive designated shuttle bus services. The international and domestic terminals are rolled into one a la Melbourne with only the Tiger Airways terminal being separated by about 350 metres. The international section is understandably small but all facilities while basic are adequate. The main cafe could do with doors that close to separate the airconditioned interior from the sometimes steamy semi-tropical outdoors but given the current design this may be hard to achieve. Since the airport will undergo further development soon small matters like this may hopefully be addressed within the next few years.