Sunshine Coast Airport boosts seat capacity for Christmas holiday travel
Sunshine Coast Airport will see a significant increase in passenger seat capacity for the 2025 Christmas and New Year period, responding to strong demand for holiday travel.
During this holiday season, the total average daily seat capacity will be 6,400 seats – an increase of 3.8 per cent from last year. The busiest days are expected to be the 19th and 26th of December.
Sunshine Coast Airport CEO, Chris Mills said the increase reflects strong passenger appetite for travel during the festive season.
“We know Christmas is one of the most important travel periods for families and we’re pleased to offer more seats and more choice to travellers than ever before.
“Our airline partners have responded to demand which means more travelers can reach their favourite destinations sooner.”
Qantas will commence flying the new A220 aircraft, resulting in an additional eight flights per week. Virgin airlines has also increased school holiday capacity by almost 20 percent from last year.
According to federal government statistics for September, the highest load factor in the country was recorded on the Melbourne – Sunshine Coast route.
“The increase is a clear sign that the Sunshine Coast is the natural choice for travel.” said Mr Mills.
“Next year is expected to be even busier, particularly with the commencement of Jetstar direct flights to Bali and onto Singapore.”
Passengers are encouraged to arrive early, check in online and stay up to date on travel requirements. Terminal expansion works are underway but are not expected to affect travel over the holiday period.
Fast Facts:
· In July 2025 SCA welcomed more than 160,000 passengers compared with 135,000 in 2024.
· SCA is experiencing significant growth expecting to welcome more than 1.8M passengers in FY26 and 2.4M by 2030.
· SCA has more capacity in core markets of Sydney and Melbourne than any time in the airport’s history.
· Sydney and Melbourne markets account for 88% of all airline seats to/from Sunshine Coast Airport with around 240 flights a week during the holiday period for FY26.
· Terminal footprint will almost double, growing from 6,100m² to 11,750m².
· Domestic departure lounge will increase threefold, from 1,250m² to 3,750m².
· Departure gates will increase from 5 to 7 – a 40% boost in capacity.
· Check-in new technology: 18 self-service kiosks and 10 automatic bag drops.
· Sustainability features: mass timber, rainwater harvesting, expanded solar panels, energy-efficient Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC), climate-sensitive design.
· Construction timeline: First stage underway, outbound baggage facility scheduled for completion in 2026, with full terminal expansion to be completed in 2027.
ENDS-
For more information or to arrange an interview contact:
Sunshine Coast Airport
(07) 5373 1901
About Sunshine Coast Airport
Sunshine Coast Airport (SCA) is the gateway to the Sunshine Coast and one of Australia’s fastest growing airports. SCA directly connects the Sunshine Coast community to five domestic and international destinations (Adelaide, Auckland, Cairns, Melbourne and Sydney) and is supported by five airlines (Air New Zealand, Alliance, Jetstar, Qantas and Virgin Australia). With more than 80 flights per week to Sydney and Melbourne, and convenient connections to Adelaide, Auckland and Cairns, SCA is the natural choice.
In July 2023, Sunshine Coast Airport was declared a Priority Development Area (PDA), with a new Development Scheme taking effect on Friday 27 September 2024. The Development Scheme will unlock opportunities that attract investment, drive economic growth and create jobs on and off airport. By 2040, it is estimated the airport will directly contribute $460m in total to Australia’s GDP. Jobs on airport are forecast to grow to 2,400 by 2040 and support a total of 3438 jobs (direct and indirect).
Sunshine Coast Airport Pty Ltd operates and manages Sunshine Coast Airport, the gateway to the Sunshine Coast and Noosa regions, under a 99-year lease from Sunshine Coast Council which commenced in December 2017.
