Airport review: Perth Terminal 4 has zero wow-factor
The airport
Perth Airport, PER
The flight
Qantas Airways QF646 from Perth to Sydney (SYD).
Inside Perth Airport.Credit: iStock
The arrival
Perth airport has a confusing split between T1 and T2 and, some distance away, T3 and T4. Let your Uber driver know which one you’re headed to, otherwise grumbling will ensue. Works are afoot at T4, and the approach is made through a labyrinth of temporary fencing and ever-sprawling carparks that cater to FIFO mine workers. The new airport train doesn’t stop here, so you’ll have to get a connecting shuttle from T1: hardly worth it.
The look
If there were medals for the unremarkable, T4 would be a champion. It’s ordinary and ageing, but at least no smokers loiter outside the entrance “fresh-air zone”. The interior is gloomy, tiled and utterly functional; the only splash of colour is a huge ad for Audi. You’re at check-in as soon as you step inside. The only distractions are a small cafe and, inexplicably, an “express blow-dry bar” for anyone in need of an urgent hairdo.
Check-in
T4 is dedicated to certain Qantas domestic flights. The spirit of Australia means doing it yourself: if you don’t use self-check-in machines, then a single, glacial queue is your punishment. I recently stood for an hour in this queue for a flight to Broome, but this time my self-check-in goes smoothly. Still, I’m surrounded by passengers frustrated at malfunctioning machines, with too few human staff to assist.
Security
The usual tedium is relieved by efficiency. The line moves along thanks to new machines that spit out multiple trays and clear instructions to leave liquids and laptops in your bag. Belts have to come off, though. The system slows as everyone then queues at the only operating body scanner, although it too is efficiently managed.
Food + drink
Three sizeable bars suggest West Australian travellers are a thirsty lot: even at 10am there’s a brisk business in glasses of wine and beer on tap. There’s also a juice bar and a couple of coffee outlets where you can get a whole cooked breakfast, omelette or acai bowl. Six-dollar coffees are being ordered with abandon: perhaps I should get a job down a mine.
Retail therapy
No surprises. A newsagency sells magazines, books, chocolates and assorted conveniences. There are two fashion brands (Witchery and Rip Curl), a Sunglass Hut, pharmacy and InMotion store for those who want to block out the entire world with headphones. “Rule the quiet” is the incomprehensible Bose slogan.
Passing time
Dawdle into Merchant, which caters to your last-minute needs for a gift or souvenir, whether Margaret River wine, Fremantle chocolate or candles that purport to smell like West Australian driftwood and sea spray. Dishes emblazoned with pictures of Rottnest Island are among trinkets you can spend the rest of your life dusting. Otherwise, resort to the internet: free Wi-Fi and charging stations are available.
The verdict
No need to linger long for a domestic flight, so why would you? T4 has zero wow factor, but causes no trouble either, and you’ll soon be boarding.
Our rating out of five
★★★
The writer was a guest of Journey Beyond.
correction
An earlier version of this article incorrectly referred to the terminal reviewed as the airport’s Terminal 3. It was actually Terminal 4. Traveller apologises for the error.
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