Airports across the country are preparing for the busiest period of the year as the festive season approaches, advising passengers to plan ahead to avoid congestion.
Millions of Aussies are expected to travel over the holidays, with airports forecasting their most demanding season to date.
From Friday, December 12, an estimated 5.84 million passengers will move through all terminals at Sydney Airport, marking one of the peak travel periods for Christmas.
International travel is also set to surge, with 2.7 million travellers expected this season.
Sydney’s busiest day for domestic travel will fall on December 12.
“We’re expecting over 80,500 passengers going through the domestic terminal,” a Sydney Airport spokesperson told NewsWire.
International traffic will reach its highest point in the new year. On January 3, Sydney Airport is set to welcome approximately 65,000 international passengers.
Melbourne Airport will also face major travel peaks on December 19 and January 2, nearing its annual record.
“With the school holidays officially getting underway we are forecasting Friday, December the 19th to be the busiest day of the summer holidays with more than 127,000 passengers through the terminals, just shy of our all-time record,” a Melbourne Airport spokesman said.
“There’s no sign of things slowing until the end of January – until then we’ll be welcoming more than 100,000 travellers through our terminals every day.”
Fridays remain Melbourne Airport’s busiest day of the week.
“For travellers wanting to beat the crowds, Saturdays are forecast to be the quietest day of the week,” the spokesman said.
Sydney Airport reports similar trends.
“Weekends are least busy, if you compare it to the entire week,” a Sydney Airport spokesman told NewsWire.
For NSW residents, Melbourne is the most popular domestic holiday destination this year, followed by Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
New Zealand is the leading international destination, followed by China, the United States, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.
Sydney Airport says it has prepared extensively to support smoother passenger flow.
“We’ve put a lot of time and effort into meticulous planning for the peak season,” the spokesman told NewsWire.
Upgrades include refreshed security screening across all terminals, allowing travellers to keep laptops, liquids and aerosols inside their bags.
“We’ll be aiming to get them through (security) in under 10 minutes and they should process through that part of their journey a lot more seamlessly,” she said.
“These new security lanes are actually also longer in length, so it enables us to process a larger number of passengers.”
The airport has also introduced an upgraded bag-screening system capable of processing more luggage per hour.
Despite improvements, travellers are being urged to allow extra time to prepare for their trip.
Domestic passengers with hand luggage only should arrive one hour before departure, while those with checked bags should arrive two hours early. International travellers are advised to arrive three hours before takeoff.
Passengers are also encouraged to book parking in advance and be ready for security screening.
“Make sure (passengers are) prepared for screening and … don’t start taking out laptops, liquids in aerosols, so leave that in your carry-on,” the spokesman said.
International passengers are reminded to bring essential documents, particularly passports.
“You’d be surprised at the number of people that get to the airport and forget their passport,” the spokesman said.
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