Ballina Byron Gateway Airport is the Northern Rivers' own airport, with direct services from Sydney and Melbourne and the shortest airport journey into Byron Bay. Its intimate terminal makes for a relaxed arrival, while a pre-booked Bay2Coast transfer ensures your private vehicle and driver are ready for the final journey to your door.
Ballina Byron Gateway is one modest building with a single baggage carousel, a café, a car hire desk and a car park you can see from the door. There is no transit between terminals and no long walk from the aircraft, and bags usually appear within a few minutes of landing.
Because the building is small, your driver can stand at the carousel with your name rather than somewhere you have to find. From bags to vehicle is a short walk across the car park.
Ballina is a domestic airport with services from Sydney, Melbourne and Newcastle rather than a full national timetable, and there are no international arrivals. When those flights suit your plans, it is comfortably the easiest arrival on this coast.
When they do not, Gold Coast Airport is about 50 minutes from Byron Bay and Brisbane about two hours, and we cover both at fixed fares. We would rather tell you that than talk you into a connection you do not need.
Check-in at Ballina is quick and queues are rarely long, so we usually collect from Byron Bay about two hours before a domestic departure, and around 90 minutes from Lennox Head or Ballina itself, with extra time in school holidays. New South Wales observes daylight saving, so unlike the Queensland airports there is no clock difference to allow for.
Where do you meet me at Ballina Airport? At the baggage claim. The terminal is small, so we are usually standing there as your bags arrive.
Do you cover the late Sydney and Melbourne arrivals? Yes. Those flights are monitored like any other, and there is very little transport waiting at the terminal outside flight arrival times.
Why are the fares from here lower? Ballina is inside our home service area, so the drives are short and the fixed fares are our lowest.
Can you do a pre-dawn departure? Yes. Early-morning pickups for the first flights out are a regular part of our week, at the same fixed fare.