Friday Footy Finals Fever Forecast
Friday is shaping up to be the busiest day of the year at Brisbane Airport’s Domestic Terminal, with 62,000 passengers forecast to travel. The surge is fueled by Brisbane Lions fans flying to Melbourne, Queenslanders returning home at the end of school holidays, and New South Wales school holidays beginning with holidaymakers flying north.
Key Highlights:
- AFL Grand Final Traffic: The Brisbane Lions’ appearance in the AFL Grand Final has significantly boosted travel demand, with many fans heading to Melbourne to support their team.
- School Holiday Overlap: The end of Queensland school holidays coincides with the start of holidays in New South Wales and holidays continuing in Victoria, with thousands of visitors heading to the Sunshine State in a tourism boost.
- Increased Flight Capacity: To accommodate the surge, airlines have scheduled 40 additional flights compared to the previous week. Qantas has also upgraded selected flights from Boeing 737s to the larger Airbus A330 aircraft.
- Alternative Routes: With direct flights between Brisbane and Melbourne selling out quickly, many passengers are opting to travel via Sydney to reach the Grand Final.
For the 6-day period Wednesday 25 Sept to Monday 30 Sept an estimated 75,400 passengers will travel between Brisbane and Melbourne. An estimated 81,400 passengers will fly between Brisbane and Sydney as fans seek another way to get to Melbourne.
“Friday would have been busy even without the Lions making the Grand Final due to the school holiday overlap, but now it is in record breaking territory,” according to Brisbane Airport spokesperson Peter Doherty.
“Airlines have added 40 additional flights across the period to cope with this surge in demand. And passengers booked on QF621 on Friday are set to receive a special surprise.
“Even though there is a large number of people on the move, our advice to travellers is to arrive the normal 90 minutes prior to your domestic departure, check-in online before you get to the terminal and book car parking in advance. And go the Brisbane Lions!”
The current post-pandemic record in the Domestic Terminal was 61,061 passengers on 29 September last year during the Brisbane Broncos and Lions Grand Finals. The all-time record for the Domestic Terminal pre-COVID was 63,525 passengers on Friday, 4 October 2019.
For more information contact Brisbane Airport’s 24/7 media hotline: 0466 322 485