Virgin Australia announces major security change for passengers at Aussie airports
Virgin Australia has announced big changes to the way it conducts airport security screenings in two major cities.
The move is set to impact frequent fliers and business passengers.
The Sydney and Brisbane Premium Entry lanes - which gave top-tier flyers exclusive terminal entry - will be shut down, as the whole passenger security process is streamlined.
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Premium Entry is being scrapped in two airports. Virgin Australia
In place of the Virgin Australia Premium Entry lanes, there will instead be dedicated Priority Screening lanes in the main terminal.
Passengers eligible to use this lane include:
- Virgin Australia business class passengers
- Velocity Gold, Platinum, Platinum Plus and Beyond members
- Virgin Australia Lifetime Lounge members
High-tier frequent flyers of Virgin's partner airlines (including Singapore Airlines, United Airlines, and Qatar Airways) will also be able to use the new lanes.
The airline has also announced they'll be open for extended hours from mid-December.
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Sydney Airport domestic terminal is being upgraded across the board. Getty
The main drawcard of the premium entry lanes at Sydney and Brisbane airports is the streamlined process, with a dedicated line from the taxi drop-off kerb through to the Virgin Lounge.
A frequent business traveller tells 9Travel that he hasn't been able to access the premium entry lanes for months as he travels outside peak hours.
He says that the closure of the lane is "annoying", but that the new airport security process is extremely quick and efficient.
According to Executive Traveller, the opening hours of these lanes have been limited to 5am to 8am weekdays in Sydney and 5am to 10am weekdays in Brisbane.
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Virgin frequent flyers will still have a dedicated lane at security. Getty
The new priority screening lanes will be open for much longer periods, according to the airline, and will still offer a speedy passage through security, thanks to new scanning tech at the airports.
A Virgin Australia spokesperson said that the switch means "doubling access to priority screening for eligible guests across major domestic airports," while eligible travellers would "have greater access to priority screening queues," per Executive Traveller.
Priority screening at Sydney and Melbourne will be open across the morning and evening peak hours, from 5am to 10am and then 2pm to 7pm, from Monday to Friday (but not on weekends).
In Brisbane, priority screening will be available all day at the new central security zone on the mezzanine level (accessible from the Skywalk and the check-in hall).
Sydney's premium entry lane will be permanently closed, but the Brisbane premium entry lane will be temporarily unavailable until late next year, due to airport renovations.
Virgin has recently changed their carry-on allowance. Getty Images/iStockphoto
The news comes just weeks after Virgin tightened its rules around carry-on baggage allowance.
From February 2026, economy fliers can bring one carry-on bag of up to 8kg, plus a 'small personal item' such as a handbag, laptop bag, or backpack that can fit under the seat in front.
The weight limit is 1kg heavier than before, but the airline is removing the option to spread the previous 7kg allowance across two bags.
