Brisbane Airport Corporation is considering adding a third terminal to keep up with future demand ahead of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Stephen Beckett from the Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) said the airport was running out of space with its two terminals.
"We really need that extra capacity to make sure that Queenslanders and people visiting Queensland can get to the destinations they need," he said.
"We know that we're going to see the number of people using Brisbane Airport more than double between now and 2040."
BAC estimates 50 million passengers a year will travel through its terminals by 2040.
BAC chief executive Gert-Jan de Graaff said a third terminal could cater for both domestic and international flights.
"A few of our domestic airlines will likely go into terminal three," he said.
"We might even allocate some international traffic in there as well to provide for better connectivity between domestic and international flights."
The new terminal is set to be built between the airport's two runways.
"We're looking at the best location, together with our airline partners, for where that new terminal will go. We think it will be in between the two runaways because that's the perfect location to minimise aircraft taxiing, and it is close to our current domestic terminal," Mr de Graaff said.
Mr Beckett said BAC had been working on the proposal for a new terminal for about 18 months and was working with airline partners and the community.
"We are working now on what that would look like to make sure that Queenslanders and people visiting Queensland have got the terminal capacity they need," he said.
Brisbane Airport to go renewable
Queensland Energy Minister Mick de Brenni also announced on Sunday that BAC would be 100 per cent powered by renewable energy by 2025, under an agreement with government-owned power generator Stanwell.
Mr de Graaff said the deal would mean BAC could meet its net zero emissions commitment 25 years earlier than planned.
“This clean energy deal delivers on Brisbane Airport Corporation’s commitment to be a sustainable world leading airport city," Mr de Graaff said.
BAC will source renewable energy from the Clarke Creek Wind Farm and Blue Grass Solar projects.
Noise pollution concerns
Brisbane Flight Path Community Alliance acting chair Marcus Foth said extra flights allowed for by the new terminal would worsen noise pollution.
"I think the new terminal is part of the very aggressive growth strategy that the airport is pursuing," he said.
"We know that they have already started to recover to pre-COVID numbers [of flights], and it is causing a very detrimental effect through the excessive noise pollution on about 169 suburbs of Brisbane."
Dr Foth, a Brisbane resident who is impacted by flight noise, said the community was very concerned.
"We have been concerned for a long time," he said.
"With the second runway, they already have now the ability to have 110 flights an hour over Brisbane residents, families and community, so the third terminal that they're building is really just the infrastructure to realise this vision."
Mr Beckett said the airport had been working with Air Services Australia to design the flight paths and determine how aircraft arrive in Brisbane.
"We are working with them to make sure that we have as limited impacts both on the environment and the community as possible," he said.
"There is a series of recommendations that they're considering now. One of the best, we believe, is making sure that more flights can come in and out over the water over Moreton Bay."
Dr Foth said neither the airport nor Air Services Australia had consulted with the community group about the new terminal.
