Sydney Airport will begin construction on the $200 million upgrade to its T2 domestic terminal on 1 May 2025. The upgrades aim to get passengers from kerb to gate in 15 minutes. They are designed to improve the experience for passengers, with new technology and facilities set to speed up check-in and security processing. This marks the first major renovation in more than 30 years at Australia’s busiest domestic terminal, which serves 17 million passengers every year.
Key features of the upgrade include self-service check-in kiosks and advanced bag drop systems, which will increase baggage processing rates by 300 bags per hour.
New next-generation security technology and state-of-the-art scanners will allow passengers to leave laptops and aerosols in their hand luggage and almost double the capacity of each security lane from 235 to 500 passengers an hour.
Accessibility will be improved with dedicated security lanes for family and assistance passengers, along with new lifts post-security for better access to food courts and lounges.
“The upgrades we’re making at the T2 domestic terminal will significantly improve the experience for the 17 million people who use T2 every year and position us for future growth,” said Scott Charlton, CEO, Sydney Airport. “We’ve made great progress on security recently, with all passengers clearing processing in less than 10 minutes, but the bottleneck at check-in can sometimes add 30 to 40 minutes. More kiosks and new automated bag drops will streamline the check-in process and, once complete, our aim is for passengers to get from kerb to gate within 15 minutes. The upgrade will be phased, with security set for completion by the end of the year and check-in works to be finished in late 2026. This means that for the next 18 months the journey through T2 will be a little different to what passengers are used to, and we encourage everyone to allow themselves plenty of time to get to the airport. We’re putting on extra staff to help passengers and we want to thank everyone in advance for their patience as we carry out these important upgrades to deliver a faster and more seamless travel experience.”
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