Virgin left waiting for terminal
The centrepiece of Perth Airport's expansion, the Virgin Australia domestic pier, is four months late and will not be finished until late October.
Touted to be ready next June, the $300 million pier will be the new home for Virgin Australia and is an extension of the International Terminal.
The delay is a big problem for the airline, which operates domestic flights from two terminals on opposite sides of the airport, resulting in missed flights for confused passengers.
Yesterday, Virgin sources confirmed the delay but the airline would not comment.
Last month, the airport took the unusual step of guaranteeing the wages of nearly 50 construction workers on the development after they walked off the job in protest over unpaid wages.
The ceiling fixers walked out over a dispute with contractors over $150,000 in wages.
Perth Airport chief executive Brad Geatches yesterday confirmed the delay and the new projected completion date.
But the actual opening will likely be after Christmas 2014 because the usual shakedown of systems takes two months.
This includes building commissioning and testing, airline and ground handler staff training and trials.
Observers suggest Virgin will delay the opening until January 2015 to avoid glitches during the Christmas peak travel period.
The delay is the latest affecting upgrades to the terminals.
An A380 super jumbo gate complex promised to Emirates president Tim Clark for June will not be available until late this year, the airport says.
However, it may not be fully operational until March.
Emirates is yet to finalise its A380 plans for Perth.
The new International Terminal arrivals complex is also behind schedule because of a range of issues, including having to build around an active environment, soaring passenger arrivals and problems moving Smart Gate passport readers.
