The gateway to Australia’s favourite summer holiday destination, Gold Coast Airport, is preparing for the busiest time of the year.

Festive celebrations commence today in the terminal, with activations including live music, carollers and Santa appearances taking place daily in the lead up to Christmas day.

The HOTA Choir presented by Gold Coast Airport will take over the arrivals hall today,with its 60 members delivering a pop-up performance of popular Christmas carols– with a contemporary twist.

Gold Coast Airport Chief Operating Officer Marion Charlton said hundreds of thousands of passengers would pass through the airport in the next month, en route to see family and friends for Christmas or enjoy a holiday break.  

“The terminal is a busy place this time of year, but we like joining in on the festive spirit and having fun with our passengers,” she said.

“Our team is geared up and ready for our peak travel period and we hope these festive activations make our passengers’ travel experience that little bit more enjoyable.

“It’s wonderful to see the HOTA Choir presented by Gold Coast Airport here for their first performance as part of a new partnership we established this year.”

HOTA CEO Criena Gehrke said she was delighted to celebrate the exciting partnership between HOTA, Home of the Arts and Gold Coast Airport.

“This partnership has seen the establishment of the HOTA Choir presented by Gold Coast Airport, and we’re thrilled to see their first performance at the airport today,” she said.

“We love that Gold Coast Airport is supporting artistic initiatives and shares our strong commitment to the local community.”

More than 600,000 passengers passed through Gold Coast Airport in December 2017, and the airport experienced its busiest day on record on 7 January 2018, with nearly 25,000 passengers passing through. Similar numbers are expected this year, with Virgin Australia and AirAsia X confirming additional seasonal capacity for the summer peak.

A record 6.6 million passengers travelled through the airport last financial year, which was an increase of 1.7 per cent on the year before.

The airport facilitates more than 420 flights per week, including direct links to Malaysia,Singapore, Japan and New Zealand. The Gold Coast Airport Master Plan anticipates a jump in passengers to 16 million by 2037.