New passport control at Brisbane Airport

Brisbane Airport has opened a new a 12-lane passport control area at Level 4 of the International Terminal. The control point is alongside the new security screening area and for the first time a check-in, security screening and passport control will all be located on a single level. The move also paves the way for the near doubling of the duty-free retail area. The opening comes ahead of the busy September school holidays, with more than 1.8 million passengers expected to pass through Brisbane Airport between Friday 18 September and Monday 12 October. International travel is forecast to be up by 6.1% on the same period last year, with Queenslanders heading off on overseas trips to destinations such as Japan, China, Europe and North America, as well as tropical favourites like Bali, Fiji and Vanuatu. Monday 5 October, which falls on the public holiday and NRL Grand Final long weekend, is forecast to be the busiest day of the holidays and the second busiest day on record for Brisbane Airport with 84,100 passengers expected across both terminals. Brisbane Airport Executive General Manager Aviation Ryan Both said the relocation of passport control would allow for a simpler, faster and more intuitive passenger journey. “No one wants a stressful start to their holiday, which is why we’re excited to open this new passport control facility before the school holiday rush. Passengers can now move seamlessly from security screening to passport control in one streamlined journey, making it easier to get from kerbside to gate. It’s another milestone in the transformation of our International Terminal and comes at the perfect time, just as thousands of families prepare to head overseas for the holidays, and thousands of visitors arrive to experience Queensland. Traffic around the terminals, parking, check-in, bag drop and security screening will all be busier than usual, so arriving the normal 90 minutes before a domestic flight and three hours before an international service remains important.” Brisbane Airport is now connected to 35 international destinations and 63 domestic destinations and welcomed a record 25 million passengers in the past year. It’s currently investing $5 billion to transform its precinct over the next five years as part of the Future BNE program. TransNusa to launch Melbourne-Bali flights Indonesia’s TransNusa Aviation will launch flights from Melbourne Airport to Bali, offering more choice to travellers heading to Australia’s most popular overseas beach destination. Trans Nusa will start service to Melbourne Airport on October 19. From October, the airline will fly a 174-seat Airbus A320 from Melbourne to Bali four times a week, adding more than 70,000 additional seats per year to the highly sought-after route. Flights have been scheduled to help maximise holiday time, with a 5:25am departure from Melbourne putting beach lovers on the ground in Bali in time for lunch and an afternoon drink by the pool. The new service will depart Melbourne Airport on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays with return flights from Denpasar operating on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. TransNusa will become the sixth airline flying between Melbourne Airport and Bali, making it Australia’s most competitive route, and comes after a slight dip in passenger numbers in August. A total of 2,942,527 people travelled through Melbourne Airport across the month, down 1.6 per cent on August 2025. Melbourne Airport CEO Lorie Argus said TransNusa’s arrival would allow more people to travel by giving Victorians a new value option to access an old favourite. “Bali has long been popular with Australians because it offers something for everyone at every price point,” she said. “As a value carrier, TransNusa offers passengers 20 kilograms of free checked baggage on all fares, with the choice of purchasing food, drink and other extras to customise each trip. While TransNusa is a new airline for Melbourne Airport, it has been flying to Perth since early 2025 and understands how Australians like to travel. We’re pleased to welcome TransNusa to the Melbourne Airport family and happy to be able to offer holiday makers extra choice in time for summer. In the past year we’ve welcomed record numbers of international travellers and the opening of our new Pick Up and Drop Off areas next month will allow us to begin work on expanding the international terminal footprint out into the existing forecourt. We’ll also build an additional five international gates, capable of accommodating up to eight narrowbody aircraft, which will allow airlines such as TransNusa to schedule more flights to the places people want to fly at the times they want to travel.” TransNusa Group Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Bernard Francis said that Melbourne-Bali said TransNusa is extremely proud to be working with Melbourne Airport to enhance and build the route further. “We hope to provide passengers not just with a point-to-point flight route but a variety of connecting options that offers passengers a beyond Bali experience,” he said. “From Bali, passengers will have options to connect to exciting island locations such as world class diving and coral reef destinations, Wakatobi and Manado, as well as other major destinations in the Asia Pacific region.” For Editorial Inquiries Contact: Editor Matt Driskill at [email protected] For Advertising Inquiries Contact: Head of Sales Sally Passey at [email protected]