If you’ve ever missed a flight at Ballina Byron Gateway Airport because you were stuck finding a car park —or wrestled with a faulty boom gate while dodging pedestrians—you’re not alone.
Now, after years of frustration for locals and visitors alike, Ballina Shire Council has officially acknowledged the chaos and is starting to do something about it.
An expert report commissioned by the council has confirmed what most travellers already know: the airport’s access and parking setup isn’t working—and it’s about to get worse if nothing changes.
“We hear the complaints. The car park is full, signage is confusing, drop-offs are stressful, and people are parking in nearby shopping centres just to catch a flight,” Ballina Mayor Sharon Cadwallader said. “This plan is about fixing that—now and for the future.”
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What’s the Problem?
Plenty. The Ground Transport Master Plan from airport consultants Bitzios details the mess in blunt terms:
- The car park is full during peak times and can’t keep up.
- The drop-off/pick-up area is so tight it creates long traffic queues spilling onto Southern Cross Drive.
- The boom gates regularly fail, causing delays and driver confusion.
- Pedestrians and cars are dangerously mixed, with little separation.
- Signage is poor, and first-time users often get lost or stuck in the wrong lane.
Even with fewer flights than during the COVID peak, the airport still handles over 620,000 passenger movements a year—and that’s expected to double by 2044.
So What’s To Be Done?
The Council has adopted the expert plan and will start work on urgent fixes within its existing budget—with bigger changes to follow if it can secure extra funding.
Top priorities include:
- A completely redesigned drop-off zone, tripling capacity from 7 to 24 spaces.
- New, separate lanes for taxis, buses, rideshare and private vehicles, making the flow less chaotic.
- 500+ extra car spaces, easing the pressure on nearby businesses.
- Better signage and clearer layouts to help everyone get in and out faster.
- Shelters and improved payment areas at the boom gates so you’re not stuck fumbling in the rain.
Why Now?
Ballina airport is no longer just a small regional hub—it’s the third busiest in NSW and the gateway to the North Coast. The fares are often the lowest in the country, and travellers are coming from as far as Coffs Harbour to fly out of Ballina.
“We’re serving the whole region now, not just Ballina,” said the Mayor. “We need to make sure our facilities reflect that.”
Locals have long complained that bad planning, poor layout, and underinvestment have led to an airport that can’t keep up with demand, especially during holidays and weekends.
“At peak times, people are parking at the Harvey Norman Homemakers Centre just to make a flight,” the Mayor said. “That’s not fair on nearby businesses, or travellers.”
What Happens Next?
Council is moving quickly on the short-term changes, and has already budgeted $7.2 million for upgrades through to 2028.
But the big-ticket items—like full redesigns and expanded zones—will likely need federal funding. Having the expert Master Plan in place puts Council in a better position to apply for grants.
How about more public transport links to the airport? Local buses to the airport. All the buses and shuttles are heading in one direction only – Byron Bay. So the locals coming from WestBallina, Cumbulum, Alstonville have to self drive. This adds unnecessary load to the traffic problem.
Ballina Airport used to have a 1 hour free ticket for locals picking up or dropping visitors, with a square label to place in windscreens. It could easily be linked to the number plate recognition system. This would relieve the pressure on the pickup / dropoff zone, which is also staffed by the most unfriendly people in the shire and whose heavy-handed approach to enforcement is not a good look for the region.
I haven’t flown out of Ballina for a few months as Gold Coast has upped its game, but the last time there were huge queues to go through a single security screening point. Has this been rectified?
The single (very zealous) security point is a big issue too, but wasn’t covered in this particular study of ‘headache causes’. It was all about transport.