Jetting Off From The Gold Coast: Which Airlines Fly Where?

With over four million visitors annually, the Gold Coast is undisputed as the tourist capital of Australia. Located an hour south of Brisbane, with a range of theme world-class class beaches and a warm climate, it’s no wonder it’s become popular to live also, being home to three-quarters of a million people.

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Its international airport, Gold Coast Coolangatta Airport (OOL), is named after the nearby suburb of Coolangatta, only minutes from the airport. However, the terminal is located in the suburb of Bilinga, and the runway straddles the state of Queensland and New South Wales, its southern tip within the state of NSW. During the summer, the airport straddles two time zones. However, it operates strictly to Australia Eastern Standard Time AEST (as does the state of Queensland) year-round.

A popular choice for travelers

International and domestic travel demand to the region is strong, welcoming six and a half million passengers; even being located just over an hour south of Brisbane International Airport (BNE), the airport stands its ground nationally as one of the top ten busiest airports, and the busiest outside of being a state capital. During the 2018 Commonwealth Games hosted here, the airport also served as the official airport of ‘Gold Coast 2018’. Currently home to just two airline lounges, these are past security for Qantas and Virgin Australia passengers. The airport recently extended its departure lounge to enable future growth and is now home to a shiny modern international terminal located south of the main domestic gates.

Passengers looking to travel abroad have a small but robust selection of options, including long-haul services with AirAsia to Kuala Lumpur and Jetstar to Tokyo Narita (which ends on October 28th, being transitioned to Brisbane Airport). When it comes to short-haul travel, international services are limited to New Zealand and Indonesia, including Air New Zealand to Auckland and Christchurch, Jetstar to Auckland, Christchurch, Queenstown, and Wellington, and Virgin Australia to Denpasar (Bali).

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Domestically, Jetstar currently holds the title of the most destinations served. Adelaide, Avalon (Melbourne), Cairns, Canberra, Hobart, Melbourne Tullamarine, Newcastle, Perth, and Sydney are added to its growing route network. Its parent company, Qantas, also ticks off five destinations from the tourist hotspot: Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney.

Bonza’s new base

Bonza, Australia’s newest ultra-low-cost carrier, is set to be the new kid in town in November, announcing its intentions to launch a flurry of destinations from its new Gold Coast base. These will include Albury, Avalon, Bundaberg, Cairns, Darwin, Gladstone, Launceston, Mackay, Melbourne, Mildura, Mount Isa, Prosperine, Rockhampton, and Townsville, all set to take flight before Christmas.

Photo: ChameleonsEye / Shutterstock

While Virgin Australia’s operations are still just a fracture of what they once were before the pandemic, the airline retains its spot in the top three for operations (currently), with services to Adelaide, Canberra, Melbourne, and Sydney (alongside its service to Bali) from the sunny GC. Once regional carrier REX, with its new jet fleet (with several purchased from Virgin ironically), also takes flight to the country’s largest cities, Melbourne and Sydney.

Other services to and from OOL include Eastern Air Services, with regional flights to Lord Howe Island and Port Macquarie and Seair Pacific to Hervey Bay, Lady Elliot Island, and Redcliffe.

How often have you flown from the Gold Coast? Are you happy with the available destinations? Let us know in the comments.