Friday finals footy feast takes off
Brisbane Airport is preparing for one its busiest days of the year, with thousands of Brisbane Lions fans flying south to Melbourne for the AFL Grand Final, while NRL fans arrive in Brisbane for the Broncos' semi-final clash with the Panthers.
Adding to the buzz, NSW school holidays are also kicking off, with travellers beginning their holiday escape to Queensland.
On Thursday 59,000 passengers were booked to travel through the Domestic Terminal. That number will surpass 60,000 domestic travellers on Friday.
Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin Australia have added 27 additional flights and 4,500 additional seats this week to meet demand from Brisbane Lions fans, eager to make it to the MCG.
"We're seeing club colours right across the terminal, with Lions fans on the move to Melbourne. Flights to the Victorian capital are in high demand, and we expect that trend to continue until Saturday morning as people make the dash south to witness the AFL Grand Final,” according to Brisbane Airport spokesperson Peter Doherty.
"Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin have all added extra services, injecting thousands of additional seats between Brisbane and Melbourne to help meet the demand.
"This was already shaping up to be a busy travel period, with the start of the NSW school holidays and plenty of tourists heading north to Queensland. We expect to see a fair few Panthers jerseys among them too flying in for Sunday’s showdown against the Bronocs at Suncorp Stadium.”
Among them is superfan Daniel Martiri, who will attend both the AFL Grand Final in Melbourne on Saturday and the Broncos v Penrith Preliminary Final at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday.
“It’s an opportunity too good to miss. Not since 2023 have we had both our two Brisbane teams so close to victory. We all know how 2023 ended, so to be able to witness both teams back on the big stage is fantastic.
“I’ll land back down in Brisbane 90 minutes before kick-off at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday, so it’s going to be a busy and thrilling weekend.”
The footy feast comes as Brisbane Airport experiences a spike for the September – October school holidays.
Domestic travel at Brisbane Airport is forecast to rise 3.4% on last year’s numbers, while international travel is tipped to increase by 16.2%.
“We know when Brisbane Airport is busy, Queensland is thriving, and we are certainly expecting the terminals to be humming these holidays. In the past year, the markets with the biggest growth in annual passengers has been Japan, New Zealand and mainland China,” according to spokesperson, Peter Doherty.
Brisbane Airport has direct flights to 35 international destinations and is Australia’s most connected domestic airport, flying to 62 airports.
It's currently investing $5 billion over the next five years as part of its Future BNE transformation.
For interviews, contact Brisbane Airport's 24/7 media hotline: 0466 322 485