Early days Prior to the opening of the Perth Airport, civilian air services for the city were provided from
Maylands Aerodrome as well as on the city's foreshore at
Langley Park. By the end of the 1930s, it became clear that the Maylands Aerodrome was limited in the size and speed of aircraft it was able to handle thus causing them to seek an alternative site for a future airport. In 1938, land was selected and purchased for the new aerodrome. The site selected in what was at the time
Guildford, was an area of land granted by Governor
James Stirling to local man John Scott, which later became the long disused Dunreath Golf Course. Officiated by the Federal Minister for Civil Aviation,
Hubert Anthony, the official ceremony for the renaming took place on the main apron in front of a converted
Bellman hangar used by TAA as its passenger terminal.
International terminal development From 1962 onwards, both the domestic and international passenger operations at the airport were provided by a single terminal. By the arrival of the
Boeing 747 on 3 September 1971, the terminal had reached its capacity, and modelling of future passenger numbers showed it would be unable to handle any further increases in passenger demand. The terminal was officially opened on 25 October 1986 by Prime Minister
Bob Hawke, with the new terminal receiving passengers just days after. Upon completion, the terminal was able to process up to five
Boeing 747 aircraft per hour and accommodated a peak passenger volume of 6,000 passengers per hour. As at February 2024,
Future Fund (30%),
Utilities Trust of Australia (23%) and
AustralianSuper (17%) were the major shareholders. From 2003 to 2004, the International terminal underwent major internal refurbishments to provide an increased array of passenger services, including increased space for duty-free stores and food and beverage concession stands. On 14 October 2008, the Airbus A380 made its first visit to the airport as a part of Qantas' A380 promotional tour around Australia. The second A380 to visit the airport was an
Emirates aircraft which made an emergency landing on 15 August 2009, after a passenger on a
Dubai to Sydney flight suffered a stroke. In 2012, the
Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) released a report rating the Perth Airport as the worst in Australia, as judged by airlines. The same report rated it below satisfactory for the second year in a row. However, due to more recent expansions and projects, the airport was awarded capital city airport of the year by the Australian Airports Association at their national conference in 2016. In 2018, Perth Airport was named the best airport in Australia for overall service quality by the ACCC after the completion of a $1 billion redevelopment project over the span of five years. Terminal 2 was officially opened on 28 February 2013, with the first flights operating out of the terminal from 2 March 2013. The single story terminal features
at-grade access to the terminal building and dedicated pick-up and drop-off lanes at the front of the terminal, a centralised passenger security screening zone, three baggage reclaim belts as well 14 aircraft bays, accessible from enclosed walkways and serviced by 8 boarding counters, and 36 additional aircraft parking bays. In April 2015, Airport Drive opened, replacing Horrie Miller Drive as the main access road to terminals 1 and 2. The road was part of the wider
Gateway WA project to improve access to the airport. That same month works commenced on a $42-million upgrade of the forecourt and the passenger pick-up/drop-off areas in front of terminal 1 to improve access. The upgrade was completed in November 2016. In May 2015, Emirates commenced the first Airbus A380 service to Perth from
Dubai following the completion of a dual level boarding gate, an expanded check-in hall, a refurbished departure area and other expansions to terminal 1 including a new Emirates business class lounge. In August 2017, Emirates replaced its last remaining Emirates Boeing 777-300ER service with an Airbus A380, taking the total Emirates daily services to two. However, this service was replaced by a
Boeing 777 in 2020, during the
COVID-19 pandemic. On 1 November 2022, the first regular A380 service resumed. On 22 November 2015 the domestic pier of terminal 1 was opened; the pier became the exclusive home to Virgin Australia. Virgin Australia's partner,
Etihad Airways began daily direct services from its hub in Abu Dhabi on 16 July 2014; the pier ensures quick and seamless transfers between the two airlines. The pier is also connected to Terminal 2 via an elevated walkway allowing seamless transfer to Virgin's regional services without having to be re-screened. On 15 May 2016, the world's largest commercial jet airliner, the
Antonov An-225 Mriya landed at Perth Airport, making its first visit to Perth and Australia. On 3 November 2016, construction of a commuter rail link to the airport was started, with
Airport Central station on the
Airport line linking the future consolidated terminal precinct with the greater Transperth railway network. The Airport line, which opened on 9 October 2022 and is underground below Perth airport, converges with the
Midland line at
Bayswater station. Also constructed was a pedestrian "skybridge" linking the station to Terminal 1. On 11 December 2016, Qantas announced that it would commence non-stop flights from Perth to
London Heathrow with one of its newly acquired
Boeing 787s. To achieve this the Qantas domestic terminals at terminals 3 and 4 were upgraded during 2017 to cater for international flights. Once completed the existing Qantas flights to Singapore and Auckland also migrated from terminal 1 to terminal 3 and 4, with all Qantas' international flights now departing from terminal 3's international section. Services to London started in March 2018. In May 2018, Qatar Airways upgraded their Perth-Doha service from the
Boeing 777 to the
Airbus A380, making them the second airline to begin A380 services to Perth. Although this service was downgraded in 2020 during the
COVID-19 pandemic, Qatar Airways would ultimately resume A380 services to Perth in December 2022.
2019–present: Major upgrades and future consolidation Although the airport was closed to many regular international and domestic flights during the course of the
COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, Perth Airport still handled six million resource workers on
fly-in fly-out flights. However, the subdued passenger numbers and a delayed border reopening resulted in a temporary closure of the Terminal 1 domestic pier and a partial closure of Terminal 3 in early 2022. In June 2022, Qantas began direct flights from Perth to
Rome to be operated on a seasonal basis, three times a week; this created Perth Airport's second direct connection to Europe. These services were followed by a direct service to
Paris Charles de Gaulle beginning in July 2024, the third connection to Europe. In May 2024, it was announced that terminals 3 and 4 will receive upgrades to create additional capacity for Qantas services before the airline ultimately moves to
a new terminal in the Airport Central precinct in 2031. The first of the new six-level carparks began construction in mid-2024 with an intended completion date of 2026. The existing road network in front of T1 and T2 will also be reconfigured, and will see new dedicated pick-up and drop-off points for passengers. On 28 June 2024,
Rex Airlines commenced operations to Adelaide using
Embraer E190s from
National Jet Express, and to Melbourne using their own
Boeing 737 aircraft. This marked the first time Rex had flown across the country to Perth. These flights were later withdrawn after Rex entered voluntary administration in July 2024. In October 2024, it was announced that the airport's first hotel would be run by
Accor under the
Pullman brand. Scheduled to begin construction in 2026, the 240-room hotel will feature a rooftop pool with views of the airfield and an architectural design that echoes aircraft panels. It will also connect to the existing skybridge. In October 2025, the airport began work on upgrades and expansion of terminal 2 that would double the passenger capacity of the facility. In December 2025, the airport officially commenced construction on a third runway (03R/21L). The new runway will be long and wide, while running parallel to the existing main runway and located between Terminal 1 and
Abernethy Road. The Skyway Consortium, a joint venture between
BMD Group and
CPB Contractors, will construct the runway with associated taxiways, access roads, lighting and other necessary infrastructure. The construction of the runway will also result in the closure of part of Grogan Road on the Perth Airport estate that intersects the planned runway site. The $1 billion project is slated for completion in 2029. ==Facilities and services==