I’ve been in Brisbane quite a few times but whenever I landed there it’s always been the domestic terminal. So when I recently got a chance to fly out of Queensland’s capital to Port Moresby (IATA: POM; LD reviewed), I took the opportunity and reviewed the international terminal of Brisbane Airport (IATA: BNE) for my loyal readers:
When you get past the fairly efficient passport control, the international terminal presents itself as a large but light-filled structure facing the runways. The first shop that presents itself to you is a large-ish duty free shop with a fairly good range of all the usual stuff. You then discover a semi-circled walkway on either side of this shop leading to additional stores that range from Sunglass Hut or Rip Curl to more unique outlets like the Rainbow Serpent. Then on either end of the walkways you’ll get to food and beverage outlets. On one side you find the Moreton Bay Ale House (yes, it’s a pub) and several fast food outlets. On the other side there’s Coffee Club and a few others.
Because my flight to Papua New Guinea received a two hour delay that day, it left me with plenty of time to explore the airport. It could have even been more time hadn’t Coffee Club been flooded with passengers that morning. With my coffee at hand I then got slightly more adventurous and discovered the airport offered more than just the usual things you see at every airport: at Brissie you also find some interesting art on display and even free wifi if you know where to go to. First, the art is displayed in form of two large sculptures by Stephen Killick (partially pictured above) on either side of the large glass-sided part of the terminal towards the gates. It’s well worth looking at it for a moment! Secondly, the free wifi, even though this really is a cheeky one, can be found in front of the Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer lounge as was helpfully pointed out by one Foursquare tipper.
Overall, here are my usual top “time wasting” tips:
- Check the departure board and uncover some unusual destinations (e.g. ever heard of Honiara?)
- Shop for some last Australiana at the “Around Australia” store next to the pub (e.g. they offer a neat Qantas plane toy kit)
- R.M. Williams is the store to go for your true Aussie outdoor hinterland kit
- Buy (or just look at) an original, certified Aboriginal canvas painting at the “Rainbow Serpent” store
- Get up to date on your emails by using the cheeky free wifi in front of the KrisFlyer Singapore airlines lounge
- And if you then must, use the smoker’s balcony behind the Coffee Club for that one last drag before your flight (well if this isn’t a time wasting activity, then I really don’t know!!)
| Airport Name | Brisbane Airport – International Terminal |
| Website | http://bne.com.au/ |
| IATA Code | BNE |
| Design |  |
| Shopping | |
| Toilets | |
| Overall | |
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AUD 175 |
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AUD 65.99 |
[Picture by LateDeparture – all rights reserved]