Brisbane Airport opens new international departure zone

Brisbane Airport's reworked international departure area is now open. Passport control has moved to a 12-lane facility on Level 4 of the International Terminal, next to the new security screening zone in an atrium. For the first time, departing travellers will find check-in, screening and passport checks on the same floor.

The airport says the move frees up space for the duty-free retail area to roughly double in size.

More than 1.8 million passengers are expected through both terminals during the September school holidays, from Friday, September 18 to Monday, October 12. International travel over that period is forecast to run 6.1 per cent above the same period a year earlier, with overseas trips to Japan, China, Europe and North America as well as Bali, Fiji and Vanuatu.

Monday, October 5 is projected to be the busiest day of the holidays and the second busiest on record for the airport, with 84,100 passengers anticipated across its two terminals.

Ryan Both, the airport's executive general manager for aviation, said passengers can move from security screening to passport control in a single continuous journey. He described the change as a further stage in the International Terminal's redevelopment.

He advised travellers that traffic around the terminals, parking, check-in, bag drop and screening will be busier than usual. Arriving 90 minutes before a domestic flight and three hours before an international one remains important, he said.