Sydney airport has signalled major future developments for its two terminal precincts to handle expected passenger growth over the next 20 year, but has omitted a proposal to build a fourth terminal from its 2039 preliminary draft master plan.
By 2039, it expects to handle 65.6 million passengers, with just under half of those to be international, over 408,000 aircraft movements and one million tonnes of freight.
As a comparison, last year the airport handled 43.4 million passengers, up 3.2% on the previous year.
The forecast takes into account the planned opening of Western Sydney airport in late 2026.
To handle that traffic growth, the airport is planning to add 17 more contact stands and seven active bussed aircraft parking bays across its three terminals. Those will be added by expanding existing facilities, and the addition of satellite piers at the southern ends of the airport, connected to the T1 and T2/3 precincts, respectively.
The airport also expects the T2/3 precinct to grow from handling only domestic and regional flights to also accommodating international services through the use of swing gates.
It is also looking to consolidate and redevelop freight facilities in both precincts.
The airport appears to have moved away from a proposal to build a fourth terminal at what is presently the site of the Qantas Jetbase, however, in favour of the satellite developments.
The preliminary draft master plan is out for public comment, before a draft master plan is prepared for approval by the transport minister. That approval is expected in early 2019.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
