Perth Airport braces for record Christmas travel rush
Families flying from Perth for Christmas have been warned to prepare themselves and allow extra time; Thursday and Friday have been announced as the busiest travel days of the festival season in WA.
Perth Airport is preparing for a record-breaking summer rush, with 3.1 million passengers forecast to travel through its terminals during the December and January holiday period.
Among those traveling on Thursday was Fremantle Dockers player Luke Jackson. 9News Perth before flying to Melbourne to spend Christmas with his family.
“It’ll be a nice break… not too much [planned]; just relax and enjoy Chrissy and the New Year’s holiday,” Jackson said.
More than 2 million passengers are expected to fly domestically, with 978,000 international passengers passing through Perth Airport.
This increase comes as Perth Airport predicts a total of 18 million passengers will travel in 2025; This figure is approximately one million more than last year.
While Thursday is expected to be the busiest day for domestic travel with 46,500 passengers, Friday will be the busiest day for international flights with 18,400 passengers departing abroad.
Perth Airport chief commercial and aviation officer Kate Holsgrove said the increase followed the busiest November on record, when 1.5 million passengers passed through the airport.
“This is an incredibly busy time for the airport, so we ask passengers to be patient and allow extra time to check in and go through security,” Holsgrove said.
Major infrastructure works are also ongoing, with major contracts being delivered by BMD Group and CPB Contractors for Perth Airport’s new runway, as well as the airport’s first multi-storey car park; The projects aim to increase long-term capacity but increase congestion in the short term.
Passengers are also reminded to pack their carry-on luggage carefully to avoid delays at security screening points.
“Make sure to pack any gifts that can be taken during security screening in your checked baggage – these could be footballs or NERF guns,” Holsgrove said.
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