A Brisbane Airport Guide

As the third largest airport in Australia, Brisbane Airport has been voted repeatedly as one of the best airports in the country. Serving over 14.3 million passengers in 2023 alone, it is quite a popular airport, requiring a bit of navigation and guidance to get through it seamlessly. Read below for information & travel tips for those flying from Brisbane Airport. 

A Brisbane Airport Guide

Brisbane Airport Arrivals:

For domestic flights within Australia, arrive at Brisbane Airport at least 1 - 1 ½ hours before your flight. For international flights, 3 hours before is sufficient. It should be noted that Brisbane Airport gets exceptionally busy, so you should be prepared to wait in queues. If you can, download your boarding pass online and either add it to your Apple wallet, screenshot it, or print it and have it handy. Doing so will save you at least 15 minutes upon getting to the airport.
 
If you do find yourself with time to spare upon arrival, check out one of the many lounges available to enter for a small fee:
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• Plaza Premium Lounge
  • AUD$60 for 2 hours
  • Located on L3 in the International Terminal
  • Lounge Hours: open every day from 5 am - 12:00 pm

 

• Aspire Lounge
  • AUD $54 per adult for 1 hour 45 minutes
  • Located by Gate 77 in the International Terminal
  • Lounge Hours: 4:30 am - 12 pm

 

• Air New Zealand Louge
  • AUD $66 for more than 4 hours
  • Located on L4 near Gate 82, in the International Terminal
  • Lounge Hours: open every day from 5 am - 11:30 pm, or 3 hours before the first Air New Zealand flight

 

• Emirates Lounge (Temporarily Closed)
  • Located on L3, near gate 75 in the International Terminal
  • Temporarily closed

 

• Qantas Lounge
  • Exclusive: Qantas Members only
  • Domestic Qantas Lounge: Located on L1, adjacent to the Qantas check-in area, before security control
    • Hours: 5:30 am-12:00 pm 7 3:00 pm – 9:00 pm
  • International Terminal: Located on L3 near the departures area, behind the News Travel Outlet after security control
    • Hours: 5:30 am-12:00 pm 7 3:00 pm – 10:00 pm
    • Hours: Thursday & Saturday:  5:30 am -12:00 pm 7 3:00 pm – 9:00 pm `

 

• Singapore Lounge
  • Exclusive: First & Business Class Singapore Airline flyers; Krisflyer Elite Gold, PPS Club, Star Alliance Gold, Velocity Gold & Platinum members
  • Lounge Hours: 6:30-2:30 pm, 8:30-11:30 pm
  • Located on L3, near Gate 82, after security

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• Virgin Australia Lounge
• Velocity Platinum member; Velocity Gold member; Virgin Australia business class guests; Virgin Australia lounge member; Veloity Silver member with single entry pass; AMex Centurion or AMEX platinum card holder; Velocity partner credit card holder; as a member of partner airline program that includes Virgin Australia lounge access
• Non-members can pay AUD$65 for a single-entry pass
• Location: Located on L2, near Gate 40, after security, Domestic Terminal
• Hours: Open 5:15 am - 8 pm
  • Saturday: 5:15 am - 19:00
  • Sunday: 5:30 am - 20:00

Brisbane Airport Terminals:

Brisbane Airport has two terminals: the International terminal and the domestic terminal. They are located 4 kilometers from each other and require passengers to take a shuttle if they need to get between them. 


​Brisbane International Terminal: Otherwise known as Terminal I or T2 on your boarding pass, you can find the following airlines servicing the Brisbane international terminal: Air Canada, Air New Zealand, Air Niugini, Air Vanuatu, Aircalin, Batik Air, Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, United Airlines, and many more.
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Brisbane Domestic Terminal: Otherwise known as Terminal D or T2 on your boarding pass, you can find the following airlines servicing the Brisbane domestic terminal: Aerlink, Alliance Airlines, Jetstar, Link Airways, National Jet Express, Qantas, Rex, and Virgin Australia.
check-in for airlines Qantas and QantasLink at Gates 1-25, Jetstar and Link Airways at Gates 26-32, and Virgin Australia at the southern end of the domestic terminal, at Gates 58-50. The following airlines can be found servicing the domestic terminal: Jetstar, Tiger Air, and Virgin Australia
 
Transfers between Brisbane Domestic & International Terminals: To travel between the two terminals, you will need to utilize the Brisbane Airport terminal transfer bus.
The Terminal transfer bus runs every day from 4:00 am - 1:30 am, every 10 minutes, and is around a 5-minute trip. To access the terminal transfer bus at the international terminal, go outside at level 2 of the international terminal. Passengers will be dropped off at Level 4 of the international terminal. To access the domestic transfer bus at the domestic terminal, look for the orange terminal transfer bus stop outside of the Domestic terminal, near the Qantas & Virgin check-in side. 

Public Transportation to & from Brisbane Airport:

• Car: If you are arriving at Brisbane Airport from the city center via car, the trip will take you around 30 minutes. There are various locations to park your car at Brisbane Airport if you plan to leave it there whilst away, we have detailed them below.
• Taxi: If you are arriving or departing from Brisbane Aiport via taxi, coming or going towards the city center, you can expect to spend around $50. If you need a taxi, walk outside either the domestic or international terminal and follow the public transportation signs. The trip will take you around 20-25 minutes.
• Uber: If you are arriving or departing from Brisbane Aiport via Uber or another rideshare app, coming or going towards the city center, you can expect to spend around $32. If you need an Uber, walk outside either the domestic or international terminal and follow the public transportation signs. The trip will take you around 20-25 minutes.
• Train: If you are arriving or departing from Brisbane Aiport via Airtrain, coming or going towards the city center, you can expect to spend around $32. If you need an Uber, walk outside either the domestic or international terminal and follow the public transportation signs. The ride will take you around 20 minutes and cost you around $15.00. 

Brisbane Airport Pick-up/ Drop-off

• Domestic pick-up and drop-off: For passengers looking to get picked up from the domestic terminal, exit the airport via the arrivals hall and follow the green sign to the passenger pick-up area. Take the lift down to L1 and wait for your driver at the curbside. Passengers may also get dropped off here. Additionally, there is an accessible drop-off area located outside on L1, outside of the Skywalk.
• International pick-up & drop-off: For passengers looking to get picked up from the international terminal, exit the airport via the arrivals hall and follow the green sign towards the Passenger pick-up area. Take the lift down to L1 and follow the signage outside, towards the pathway on the right. Then cross the pedestrian crossing and head towards the kerbside zone for passenger pick-ups. To get dropped off at the international terminal, have your driver go to the green zone on L4 Departures Road. 

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Your driver must remain in the car at all times, and be ready to move the car after 2 minutes.  

Brisbane Airport Parking:

Off-Site airport parking: There are an array of off-site car parks at Brisbane Airport, many of which are secure, more affordable, and less crowded than on-site, official Brisbane airport car parks. Nearly all off-site car parks offer complimentary shuttles to take you to and from the airport terminals on demand and cater to both domestic and international travellers. To see the options for airport parking Brisbane, visit Flyparks to compare prices, read reviews, and book your car park provider.
 
On-site airport parking: Brisbane Airport offers 7 on-site, official car parks. These car parks are ParkValet, AIRPARK, Park & Fly, Park Premium, Park Long, and Parkshort. These car parks can accommodate both short and long term parking at Brisbane Airport but will be much more costly than off-site car parks and tend to be very crowded, especially during the peak travel season. 

Brisbane Airport Hotels:

At Brisbane Airport, you can find the following airport hotels close by, with shuttles to take you to the airport and back for $8.00. Between 4 am - 9 am, everyday:

• Pullman Brisbane Airport Hotel, $187.00 for 1 night
• Novotel Brisbane Hotel, $176.00 for 1 night
• Ibis Brisbane Aiport Hotel, $167.00 for 1 night

 
Now you have just about everything you need to get through Brisbane Airport with ease. Be sure to download your boarding passes onto your phone to have them easily accessible, and try to check in to your flight beforehand if you want to save time at the airport. Most importantly, enjoy yourself and happy travelling! 

VISION Destinations | July 2023