Terminal 2 commences operations; first new terminal at Perth for 26 years

2 March 2013 © David Eyre

Perth Airport’s new $120 million Terminal 2 (formerly known as “Terminal WA”) commenced operations today, with the departure at 7:23am of Fokker 100 VH-FZO on Skywest flight XR295, a FIFO (Fly In, Fly Out) flight to Barimunya in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, serving BHP Billiton’s Yandi iron ore mine.

Skywest Fokker 50 flight XR141 to Esperance was supposed to be the first flight, with a scheduled time of departure at 6:30am, but departure from Perth was delayed to to poor weather at Esperance.

The first arrival to the new terminal was Skywest Fokker 50 VH-FNH on flight XR114 from Geraldton at 8:01am.

Terminal 2 is the first new terminal to be built at Perth Airport for 26 years, and is a key milestone in Perth Airport’s $750 million redevelopment program. It is located next to the International Terminal (Terminal 1).

The terminal was built by Broad Construction Services, with construction starting in September 2011. It took more than 250 personnel and 500,000 man hours to complete. Following staff training, operational trials of various features of the terminal were conducted by volunteers on 16 February 2013.

The Terminal uses a gas-fired power plant which generates electricity but also creates heat which is used to contribute power to the air-conditioning system and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Integrating this system took longer than expected, delaying completion of the terminal by nearly two months. Large shapes in front of the terminal which look like planter boxes are actually inlets for the air-conditioning system.

Aviation enthusiasts will be disappointed to learn that Terminal 2 is totally unsuitable for aviation photography, with no decent vantage points from inside the terminal.

Skywest Airlines and Alliance Airlines are the first to have moved to Terminal 2 from Terminal 3. Tiger Airways will move to Terminal 2 from Terminal 3 in May 2013.

Qantas domestic flights will continue to mainly use Terminal 4, but it will expand some operations into Terminal 3. Virgin Australia domestic flights will continue using Terminal 3, but will move to the new domestic pier being built at Terminal 1 in mid-2014.