New Terminal at Perth Airport to Open 2 March 2013

Perth Airport has confirmed that the new $120 million Domestic Terminal (Terminal 2) will open on Saturday, 2 March 2013, less than 18 months from the time construction commenced in September 2011.

Built by Broad Construction Services (WA), Terminal 2 took more than 250 personnel and 500,000 man hours to complete. It is the first new terminal to be built at Perth Airport for 26 years, and marks a critical milestone in its redevelopment program.

“This is the first of our major projects to be completed and comes at a time when there is continuing strong growth in aviation activity to regional Western Australia driven largely by the resource sector's fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) workforce model. The opening of Terminal 2 represents a major step forward in meeting the requirements of the resource sector,” said Brad Geatches, Chief Executive Officer, Perth Airport.

“The location of Terminal 2 next to the current International Terminal (Terminal 1) will immediately improve the travel experience for people in regional Western Australia, as they will now be able to connect through to international services in one convenient location. It also represents the first stage in our vision to have all commercial air services operating in one precinct by 2020,” Mr Geatches said.

Initially, Terminal 2 will become home to Skywest and Alliance Airlines and Tiger Airways will move to the new facility in May 2013.

Skywest will be the first airline to fly out of the new terminal, with all flights departing and arriving from Saturday, 2 March.

“We look forward to our customers enjoying the convenience of the more spacious and modern facilities offered within the new terminal, with the benefits of a reduced wait through screening and free WIFI throughout the terminal,” said Jason Bitter, Chief Executive Officer, Skywest.

Both Skywest and Alliance Airlines offer charter services to support the workforce deployment to the resource rich areas of Western Australia, and Terminal 2 has been built with this as the primary consideration. It will facilitate the quick turn-around of aircraft, reduce taxiing and towing of aircraft and provide a superior customer experience for all travellers, including the estimated one million FIFO workers who will travel through the terminal in the first year.

“Terminal 2 will open at around 30% capacity and, should we continue to experience current growth rates, it will be able to cope easily with increased demand,” said Mr Geatches.

Skywest also offers commercial services to a range of regional destinations such as Albany and Esperance in the south, to Geraldton, Kalgoorlie, Exmouth and Broome in the north.

Terminal 2 features:

- 16 check-in counters and space for new self-service and bag drop technology for faster and easier check-in

- a spacious departures lounge with high quality retail, food and beverage choices

- 14 aircraft gates accessed via covered walkways, providing protection from the elements

- three large baggage reclaim belts to minimise waiting times.