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Gold Coast Airport says it has seen one of its busiest-ever holiday periods, with more than 1.2 million passengers in December and January.
Around 47,000 more passengers transited the airport in the 2025 holiday peak than in 2024, with 600,000 in December and a further 637,000 in January. It comes as airlines including Qantas, Jetstar, and Fiji Airways look to ramp up services from the Gold Coast.
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“We saw passenger numbers spike between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, with the 27th and 28th of December being our busiest days, closely followed by the 23rd and 30th of December,” said Queensland Airports Limited’s chief of aviation, Adam Rowe.
“The first two weeks of January were the busiest with several days of more than 23,000 passengers, followed by another peak ahead of the long weekend on Friday, 23 January.
“Demand for flights in and out of the Gold Coast was exceptionally high, with around 90 per cent of seats on all flights booked.”
While Sydney and Melbourne continued to be the busiest routes, according to Rowe, international also saw “strong demand” over the summer.
“More than 126,000 passengers travelled on one of our six New Zealand routes – 18,000 more than the same period last year,” he said.
“Bali was also a popular pick; with two airlines now servicing the Denpasar route, passenger numbers jumped by more than 75 per cent when compared to last year – with more than 23,000 passengers over December and January.
Qantas is set to launch services between the Gold Coast and Auckland later this year, while Fiji Airways will fly to Nadi.
Starting from 16 June 2026, Qantas will operate three flights per week year-round from the Gold Coast to Auckland, connecting Queensland’s tourism capital with New Zealand and providing customers with enhanced connectivity across the Tasman.
Customers will be able to connect via Auckland to four other domestic destinations across New Zealand on Jetstar, including Christchurch and Queenstown, as well as Rarotonga in the Cook Islands.
Meanwhile, starting 11 June, Fiji Airways flights will operate three times per week every Monday, Thursday and Saturday on 737 MAX 8 aircraft, offering connections through Nadi to and from North America via Los Angeles, Dallas-Fort Worth and Vancouver.
Jetstar is also planning to increase services from the Gold Coast to Hamilton and Dunedin starting next month.
