Perth Airport built a new domestic facility at Terminal 1 for passengers to transfer between regional, interstate and international services.

As the new home of Virgin Australia in Perth, the opening of this facility was of national importance and received significant media attention. The new facility included 28 domestic check-in kiosks, 14 hybrid self-service bag drop desks, 12 aerobridge departure gates and a retail and dining area.  

Arup worked closely with airport and airline stakeholders over two years to plan, prepare and implement an ORAT process. A 12-week implementation period included stakeholder activation and training activities. A programme of 28 trials were conducted to progressively test the new facility and its systems, people and processes.

Passengers can now transfer seamlessly between regional, interstate and international services in one convenient location. 

Operational readiness and transition (ORAT)

Working closely with over 15 stakeholder groups, Arup’s ORAT process focussed on stakeholder readiness, including people readiness, activation and transition, trials and migration:

  • People Readiness – Arup gave stakeholders visibility of their training needs with sufficient time to implement staff training programs prior to the opening day. This visibility enabled stakeholders to be familiarised with and trained on the new facility, ensuring they could operate the terminal as intended.

  • Activation - Arup gave stakeholders an understanding of the project delivery and early identification of required stakeholder activation activities. This created a conduit for technical issues to be resolved before, during and after trial implementation and prepared stakeholders for the transition of asset ownership.

  • Trials – Arup delivered a program of trials designed to progressively test the Terminal 1 Domestic facility, systems, processes and people. Overall, this trials program identified over 300 issues to be resolved prior to the opening day to ensure a smooth transition to live operations and deliver an enhanced passenger experience.

  • Migration - Arup provided leadership and advice to Virgin Australia with regards migration strategies to limit risk associated with relocating their operations from one side of the airport estate to the other.
Airport terminal Perth
To transition Terminal 1 Domestic successfully from construction site to live operational environment, Arup implemented a comprehensive ORAT process.
Perth airport
The new Terminal 1 Domestic facility is part of Perth Airport’s AUD $750 million redevelopment program to consolidate all commercial air services into one precinct, to be known as Airport Central.