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 19 and 26 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 travellers 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 per cent 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.
