News

Attention passengers: These are Australia’s most (and least) stressful airports

You’ll need to take a chill pill before flying into or out of Brisbane Airport

Melissa Woodley
Written by
Melissa Woodley
Travel & News Editor, Time Out Australia
Brisbane Airport terminal
Photograph: Jen Dainer | Brisbane Airport
Advertising

Airports open the door to new adventures, but they often come with their fair share of stress. Lengthy check-in lines, nerve-wracking security screenings, regular flight delays and constant fear of lost luggage make for quite a heinous experience. But at which Aussie airport should you actually arrive three hours before take-off? 

Make sure to pack a stress ball in your carry-on if you’re flying out of Brisbane, which has just been ranked as the most stressful airport in Australia. To come up with this ranking, holiday car rental website StressFreeCarRental.com scored the country’s ten busiest airports on five stress-inducing factors, including passenger numbers, distance from the city centre, number of flight destinations, cost of parking and overall airport satisfaction. 

Brisbane Botanic Gardens
Photograph: Tourism and Events Queensland | Brisbane City Botanic Gardens

Stress levels are high in Brisbane for a number of reasons, starting with the airport’s sky-high parking fees of $214 per week. Brisbane Airport also ranked as the third busiest, with almost 20 million travellers flying to 70 destinations in the last year.

Tensions are high in the Gold Coast too, which ranked as the second most stressful airport, despite flying to only 15 places. You’ll need to allow an extra 40 minutes to get there from the CBD, which is the furthest away out of any city.

If you’re hoping to stay cool, calm and collected then fly straight to Canberra. Our nation’s capital ranked as the best airport to fly to and from, boasting the highest satisfaction score of 85 on Flightradar. Adelaide comes in a close second, offering the cheapest parking at $96 per week. 

Here are the ten most stressful airports in Australia:

  1. Brisbane
  2. Gold Coast
  3. Melbourne
  4. Perth
  5. Sydney
  6. Cairns
  7. Hobart
  8. Townsville
  9. Adelaide
  10. Canberra

Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Australia newsletter for more news, travel inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox. 

RECOMMENDED:

🏝 The 10 Australian holiday spots our travel editors are dying to visit

🌅 The world’s largest rock is right here in Australia – but it’s not Uluru

You may also like
You may also like
Advertising