Two new departure gates have opened at Hobart Airport, the latest milestone in a $200 million overhaul that will double the size of the terminal and pave the way for future international flights.
Gates 8 and 9 will eventually serve as the airport’s international gates.
For now, they will handle domestic flights while the rest of the terminal is rebuilt around them.
Hobart Airport chief executive Norris Carter said the work was being staged to keep the airport running.
“We’ve got to keep the airport running while we rebuild it, so it’s a bit like renovating the house at the same time as you’re living in it,” Carter said.
“We’re kind of doing one room at a time.”
Passengers will see more changes from next month, when the current departures area closes.
Temporary gates and extra seating will fill the gap, and three new venues – Coal River Farm, the Outbound Cafe and York Street Bar – will open in stages.
Carter said the terminal had outgrown its design.
“We’re currently putting almost three million people a year through the terminal, which really only had space for 1.5 million, so it got pretty squeezy,” he said.
“When we look out to 2040, we see forecasts of five million passengers.”
Carter said talks with Asian carriers about international flights were continuing but had been slowed by global conditions.
“We’re still talking to the Asian carriers. Great conversations, very positive,” he said.
“At the moment, the war in the Middle East isn’t doing us any favours, but we’re still working on it.”
The full project is due for completion in early 2028. The rebuild of the old terminal will take about a year.
Hutchinson Builders is delivering the project, with about 150 workers on site each day and close to 1,000 people inducted so far.
State manager Nick Silcox said the build was on time and on budget.
Silcox said projects of this scale were increasingly important to Tasmania’s construction sector.
“We’re pleased to have reached this milestone on schedule and we remain focused on delivering the next stages of the airport’s transformation safely and efficiently,” he said.
