Newcastle Airport Terminal Expansion: Connecting the Hunter to the World

The brand-new Newcastle Airport terminal is now open, marking a major milestone for the region’s infrastructure and aviation future. The expanded terminal is designed to cater to 2.5 million passengers annually and reflects the contribution of over 2,000 people and more than 314,000 construction hours. Since opening, the Airport has recorded its highest-ever passenger numbers, surpassing 1.3 million passengers in FY26, a 10% increase on the previous year.  The terminal and precinct expansion is set to create 4,400 jobs and contribute $12.7 billion in economic activity over the next 20 years.

Key Features

• Expanded arrivals hall with new signage, digital wayfinding, and smoother connections from car park to gate.
• Improved pick-up zones and two hours of free parking in Long Stay Saver.
• New food and beverage offerings, including the Crosswinds Coffee Co., Bernoulli’s Cafe & Bar, Novocastrian Taphouse, The Cove Kitchen & Bar, and Sushi Sushi.
• Wide-body aircraft capability, runway works, and new aerobridges to enable future international flights.

Services Design

COX Architecture set the vision for the new terminal, unifying the architecture into a single building that emphasises the joy of travel and stands as a distinctive point of pride for Newcastle and the Hunter region. The terminal also needed to be constructed in phases without disrupting existing operations, requiring careful design development to minimise temporary works.

A key to this vision was a desire to see the feature ceiling kept as clean as possible, which required novel approaches to the lighting and air conditioning coverage to achieve the brief requirements of the various stakeholders in the new terminal.

Applying experience developed in delivering 6-Star NABERS office buildings as well as aviation sector projects, the services design incorporated technology capable of responding to the building’s variable operating patterns that are seen in the structure, ensuring systems remain scalable as the airport demand grows.

Sustainability

Sustainability was a driving force behind the Newcastle Airport Terminal Expansion, with the project successfully achieving a 5-Star Green Star ‘As Built’ rating and building on the airport’s Level 4+ Airport Carbon Accreditation, the first held by any airport in Australia. The new photovoltaic system supplies roughly 15% of the airport’s total energy needs in the 2026 financial year.

LCI supported these outcomes through rigorous assessment, testing, and close collaboration with all project stakeholders to ensure sustainability, safety, and durability were achieved in balance.

Audio Visual (AV) 

The AV team delivered a fully integrated system suite to elevate passenger experience and operational performance, including:

• Public address (PA) systems across terminal areas, fully integrated with the existing system.
• Hearing augmentation systems compliant with the Building Code of Australia.
• A reliable Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) system distributing Flight Information Display System (FIDS), digital signage, and wayfinding.
• Integration of the PA and EWIS systems to provide priority override and automatic routing for emergency and evacuation messaging.
• Advanced electroacoustic modelling for large-volume and acoustically complex spaces to predict sound pressure levels, speech intelligibility (STI), frequency response, and coverage uniformity.

This combination of sustainable services design and advanced AV integration ensures the terminal operates efficiently while delivering a future-ready passenger experience.

“This is the largest investment in the region’s aviation tourism history. With this terminal now operational, we’re ready to welcome more visitors, open new trade channels and connect the Hunter to more of the world.” – Linc Horton, CEO of Newcastle Airport

Fire Engineering

From the outset, it was recognised that the building extension would classify the facility as a large, isolated building, introducing requirements beyond those of a standard development. The complexity of the existing structure meant that not all prescribed solutions could be accommodated, necessitating a pragmatic and innovative fire engineering approach.

With future expansion also a key consideration, LCI collaborated closely with COX Architecture, the BCA Consultant and the Principal Certifier to deliver robust performance solutions that not only exceeded minimum compliance standards, but also provided the client with clear, well‑documented systems that are straightforward to verify and manage throughout the life of the terminal.

Key Challenges & Mitigation

A project of this scale brought significant challenges. Integrating new systems into an operating terminal required staged cutovers, temporary services, and precise coordination with existing infrastructure to avoid disruption to flights and passenger safety. The expansion increased loads and complexity across all building services, demanding careful design to ensure Green Star performance was maintained.

Construction logistics were equally complex, with tight staging, intricate interfaces, and minimal downtime available for installation and commissioning. These challenges were resolved through strong collaboration with our clients and a commitment to open communication and transparency throughout risk mitigation and resolution.

LCI, in partnership with COX Architecture, delivered Mechanical, Electrical, Hydraulic, Fire Services, Specialist Lighting, Communications, Audio Visual & ICT, Fire Engineering, Vertical Transportation, ESD, and Acoustics engineering for this landmark project.

Reference: Newcastle Airport
Image Credit: COX Architecture