Sunshine Coast Airport (formerly Maroochydore Airport) is an Australian international airport located in Marcoola, north of Maroochydore, roughly centrally located along the coast of the Sunshine Coast Region. It is approximately north of centre of

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, within the South East Queensland agglomeration. The airport is owned by

Sunshine Coast Regional Council The Sunshine Coast Region is a Local government in Australia, local government area located in the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Sunshine Coast region of South East Queensland, Australia, from which it takes its name. It was created by the amalg ...

and is the principal and only jet-capable airport serving an urban area of nearly 400,000 residents. The airport serves as a gateway to holiday destinations such as Noosa Heads, Maroochydore, Mooloolaba, and Caloundra. There are direct flights to

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Cairns Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...

and regional destinations throughout Queensland. JetStar operates an international service to

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

once daily, multiple times per week. In addition,

Air New Zealand Air New Zealand Limited () is the flag carrier of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 20 domestic and 28 international destinations in 18 countries, primarily within the Pacific Rim. The airline h ...

provides a seasonal international service running between July and October, with three weekly return flights to

. The airport also supports a variety of tourism, flight training and general aviation activities. Sunshine Coast Airport was the 12th busiest airport in Australia and fifth busiest in Queensland during the 2021–22

financial year A fiscal year (also known as a financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. La ...

, handling 816,873 passengers. Like most Australian airports, MCY was impacted by travel restrictions in response to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

that saw passenger numbers decline from a peak of 1,257,561 in 2018–19.

History

A terminal building was constructed in 1979. The runway was extended to in 1983 to allow the operation of

Fokker F28 Fellowship The Fokker F28 Fellowship is a twin-engined, short-range jet airliner designed and built by Netherlands, Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. Following the Fokker F27 Friendship, an early and commercially successful turboprop-powered regional air ...

and BAe 146 regional jets. The runway was upgraded again in 1993 to allow the operation of larger

Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is an American narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton factory in Washington (state), Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the t ...

and

Airbus A320 The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, Maiden flight, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France. The first membe ...

jets. A new terminal building was completed in 1997 and the airport was renamed Maroochydore-Sunshine Coast Airport. By 2009, the airport handled 916,845 annual passengers, making it the 15th busiest airport in Australia. On 3 June 2010, the airport changed its name from "Maroochydore-Sunshine Coast Airport" to "Sunshine Coast Airport" and changed its

ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sch ...

code from YBMC to YBSU. The airport handled approximately 87,000 aircraft movements in 2012 and was nearing or exceeding its capacity of 900,000 annual passengers in consecutive years .

International flights and growth

In February 2012,

announced plans to launch a new twice-weekly service between

and Sunshine Coast Airport, to operate seasonally from July to September, the first time scheduled International flights had operated from Sunshine Coast Airport. Customs, immigration and quarantine facilities were added to the terminal ahead of the first flight. On 12 November, Air New Zealand announced that the season would be extended in 2013, with flights operating from June to October. Air New Zealand later committed to operating the services until at least 2017. 2016 saw domestic airlines Jetstar, QantasLink and Virgin Australia significantly increase their capacity through Sunshine Coast Airport, adding more than 65,000 extra seats. 24,200 more seats were added between Sydney and Sunshine Coast, 16,920 extra on the Melbourne to Sunshine Coast route, while Jetstar introduced direct flights to Adelaide, providing 23,400 seats on the new route. A total of 244,708 passengers arrived or departed from Sunshine Coast Airport during the summer season from December 2015 and February 2016. On 9 February 2017,

mayor Mark Jamieson announced that Palisade Investment Partners had been awarded a 99-year lease to operate the airport, with the lease running until 2116.

Expansion and reconfiguration

To address capacity issues at the airport, John Holland Group were contracted to undertake a major upgrade and expansion project in 2018. As part of the construction, the existing runway 18/36, which handled all commercial jet traffic was decommissioned and converted to a taxiway. Its replacement was a new NW-SE runway (Runway 13/31). To allow for this, the general aviation runway (12/30) was also removed. The scope of these works were controversial amongst airport tenants and communities that would be overflown by the new flight paths, becoming the subject of numerous legal challenges. A series of environmental considerations were given to the expansion, including the Coordinator-General's recommendation to ensure the requirements for tidal flap to allow conveyance of floodwater and avoid submergence of mangrove roots for extended periods. Other requirement such as offsetting to provide additional critical habitat for vulnerable flora and fauna including revegetation of sections to provide adequate and alternate suitable

wildlife corridor A wildlife corridor, also known as a habitat corridor, or green corridor, is a designated area habitat (ecology), that connects wildlife populations that have been separated by human activities or structures, such as development, roads, or land ...

s for species.Sunshine Coast Airport Expansion project, Coordinator-General’s evaluation report on the environmental impact statement May 2016
Accessed: 21 September 2020 On 14 June 2020, the new runway (13/31) was opened, allowing operation of larger wide body aircraft such as Airbus A330 and Boeing 777, Boeing 787 with longer range capable of direct flights to Southeast Asia, China and Hawaii, with minimal impact on nearby residents. Use of wide body aircraft such as Airbus A330 and Boeing 777, Boeing 787 would allow for direct flights to Southeast Asia, China and Hawaii, This upgrade also allowed for more domestic flights, typically using Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 airliners, to operate with greater payloads.Region set to soar as runway turns Council’s vision into reality
Sunshine Coast Council 12 June 2020 During 2019, Air New Zealand had already extended seasonal flights to Auckland from 2020 through to 2023 with the backing of the

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the state government of Queensland, Australia, a Parliament, parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Government is formed by the party or coalition that has gained a majority in the Queensland Legislative Assembly, ...

, operating from April to October Following completion of the airport's expansion, on 25 June 2021 a further agreement was announced that secured year-round flights on the route. Unfortunately, likely due to a side effect of COVID on air travel, Air New Zealand's flights to Auckland have remained seasonal. In February 2022, low-cost carrier Bonza announced that the airport would become its headquarters and one of two main bases for its planned start-up operation. At its peak, Bonza operated services to 16 destinations across Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and the Northern Territory. Plagued with reliability issues and financial troubles, Bonza suspended all operations on 30 April 2024, before entering voluntary administration and subsequently having their aircraft repossessed. The collapse of Bonza was expected to result in a substantial decrease in passenger numbers at the airport. In June 2024, Jetstar announced an expansion of their route offerings from the Sunshine Coast Airport. The first new route will begin from the 3 December 2024, with flights operating up to four times per week between the Sunshine Coast and

using the flight numbers JQ808/809. The second route announced will begin 13 December 2024 with flights operating three times per week between the Sunshine Coast and

using the flight numbers JQ175/176, finally resulting in a year round connection between these two destinations.

Terminal and facilities

The airport has a single terminal, which can be split into separate international and domestic areas to accommodate Jetstar and Air New Zealand's Auckland flights. The single-storey building has no aerobridges; passengers must take a short walk across the tarmac to reach their aircraft. Since the airports post-COVID boom, Sunshine Coast Airport has erected canvas-style waiting rooms at multiple gates in an attempt to quickly increase seating options. There are currently no published plans for an expanded airport terminal. There are no airline lounges within the terminal, however the public departure lounge provides seating available for about 350 people. Free

WiFi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...

is available throughout the building and there are several food and shopping outlets. Each of the six airlines operating have dedicated check-in desks and gates. There are four baggage carousels, TV monitors, a taxi rank, shuttle bus services and hire-car desks.

Statistics

Airlines and destinations

Ground transport

The airport is served by local taxi service Suncoast Cabs and by Sunbus Sunshine Coast's route 622 from Sunshine Plaza to Noosa Junction. Airport shuttle services are run by several companies offering transfer to Sunshine Coast hotels and private residences. They connect to all suburbs south of the Sunshine Coast Airport including Twin Waters, Maroochydore, Alexandra Headland, Mooloolaba, Kawana Waters, Buderim, Caloundra, Golden Beach and Pelican Waters. In 2023 the airport opened a new Car Rental Centre, providing a new home for car rental companies. The relocation of the car rental companies allowed for an expanded passenger carpark, along with additional room within the airports Arrivals Hall. Passengers can access the Car Rental Centre by an approximate 150 metre walk from outside baggage claim.

References

External links

* {{Airports in Queensland Airports established in 1959 Airports in Queensland Public transport in Sunshine Coast, Queensland 1959 establishments in Australia International airports in Australia