The Bendigo Airport terminal building is ready to welcome its first Qantas passengers when the inaugural Sydney to Bendigo flight touches down this Sunday.
Extensive renovations have taken place at the airport over the past two months and 46 local businesses were employed to provide materials or deliver works, including construction, electrical, floor coverings and painting.
A new 76-space car park has been sealed, the building has been extended to accommodate the baggage collection area, new carpet has been laid throughout, new seating has been installed, toilet facilities have been updated and NBN fibre has been connected to the building to allow passengers to connect to the internet.
Kitchen facilities have also been added to support the new Bendigo Airport Café, which will open for 90 minutes before every departing flight.
City of Greater Bendigo Business Services Manager Ben Devanny said the terminal building was now ready for this next chapter in the history of the airport.
"The works have run to schedule and we are very pleased with the result and to have been able to engage local tradesman. The building is now fit-for-purpose and will be comfortable for passengers as they wait to board flights, collect their baggage or be picked up from the airport," Mr Devanny said.
"It will be a very simple process for checking in and while there will be Qantas staff available to help, passengers are encouraged to download the Qantas app to check in online and use their digital boarding pass stored in the app.
"When passengers land, they will simply disembark and collect checked luggage if they have any. The terminal building will be open for people to wait in if they need to.
"A car hire company will also operate from the airport, which is a great addition to airport operations and will make it easier to support the needs of the tourism market that we hope to attract as a result of having access to regular flights to and from Sydney.
"We are very much looking forward to Sunday evening and the arrival of the first flight. Qantas has been very pleased with ticket sales and the response from the community and businesses has been extremely positive."
