Sunshine Coast Airport (formerly Maroochydore Airport) is an Australian airport located at the northern end of the Sunshine Coast and approximately 90 km (56 mi) north of the centre of Brisbane, within the South East Queensland agglomeration. It is the principal airport for the Sunshine Coast and is the only airport in the region capable of servicing jet aircraft operations.

It is the gateway to holiday destinations such as Noosa, Maroochydore, Mooloolaba, and Caloundra. There are direct daily flights to Sydney and Melbourne. In addition, Air New Zealand serves the city seasonally, with three weekly return flights from Maroochydore to Auckland.

Sunshine Coast Airport is situated in Marcoola 10 km (6.2 mi) north of Maroochydore, and was developed, owned, and operated by the Sunshine Coast Regional Council.

Terminal/facilities:

The airport has one terminal. During the Air New Zealand seasonal flights to Auckland the terminal can be split into an international and domestic terminal. It has one-storey and there are no aerobridges, and passengers must take a short walk on the tarmac to reach their aircraft.

There are a few food and shopping outlets within the terminal for passengers. Each of the three airlines operating have dedicated check-in desks and gates. There are two baggage carousels, TV monitors, a taxi rank, shuttle bus services and hire-car desks. The departure lounge is fairly large, with seating available for about 300 people.

Airport transport options:

The airport has a range of transport options to and from the airport. The local taxi service is Suncoast Cabs.

Sunbus' route 622 Sunshine Plaza to Noosa Junction serves the airport.

The airport shuttle service is run by several companies offering shuttle transfer to Sunshine Coast hotels and private residences to all suburbs south of the Sunshine Coast Airport including Twin Waters, Maroochydore, Alexandra Headland, Mooloolaba, Kawana, Buderim, Caloundra, Golden Beach and Pelican Waters.

Expansion:

The airport currently has two runways. The longer main runway, 18/36, handles the jets (737, A320) and the shorter runway 12/30 handles general aviation.

In June 2020, a new runway 2,450 m (8,040 ft) in length named 13/31 was opened. This replaced the existing 650 m (2,130 ft) runway 12/30 and allowed for operation of aircraft larger and with longer range than the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 with minimal impact on nearby residents. Use of wide body aircraft such as Airbus A330 and Boeing 777, 787 would allow for direct flights to Southeast Asia, China and Hawaii, as well as additional domestic flights.