Queenstown Airport’s adding a fourth passenger screening lane to its domestic terminal in the next phase of its terminal upgrade programme, which started in 2018.
Chief operating officer Todd Grace says the existing domestic lounge was designed almost 20 years ago and is now cramped at peak times, which discourages passengers from going through security screening till the last minute.
That leads to surges for screening, and longer wait times.
The $5 million project includes an interior terminal rejig to make the domestic departure lounge bigger, and upgrading amenities for passengers waiting to board a plane, including incorporating the existing Airspresso cafe into the departure lounge area and increasing the number of toilets.
There’ll also be a separate screening area dedicated to bulk goods, while a new landside cafe, with outdoor seating in the airport forecourt, is also planned.
At the same time, some seismic strengthening work’s being done, Grace says.
The work means passengers boarding ATRs at Gate 1 will need to pass through security screening for about eight weeks.
Grace says the upgrade will be done in stages and at night — the airport plans to have the most disruptive stage finished before the winter school holidays, and the project fully completed by spring.
