Brisbane's international airport is getting a facelift as part of a $5 billion plan to upgrade the airport over the next decade.
The plan also includes the construction of a third terminal and upgrades to the domestic terminal.
"We have begun planning for a terminal three development, which will be conveniently located between our two parallel runways," Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) chief executive Gert-Jan de Graaff said on Thursday.
It's planned that the third terminal will service both domestic and international flights.
Mr de Graaf said the upgrades at the airport are focused on security and passenger experience, but notes that the airport is "currently not capacity".
"There is still room in the existing building for more flights," he said.
BAC said it needed to upgrade its security measures by end of 2025 to meet government standards.
Jeff Moomaw from Delta said the US airline would start flying into Brisbane from December 4.
He said the airport upgrades would bring Queensland in line with other major international terminals, such as Los Angeles.
Mr Moomaw said Brisbane's growing population, commercial opportunities, and strong tourism market have played a part in the airline's decision to fly in and out of Brisbane.
The revamp of the international terminal will streamline and upgrade security measures and implement self-service check-in and more efficient baggage systems.
It is hoped new computed tomography bag screeners, which allow passengers to leave laptops and tablets in their bags, will make for faster-moving queues.
The same technology will be used in the domestic terminal.
BAC said ground support equipment such as "pushback tugs, belt loaders, cargo loaders, and baggage tugs" will be converted from fossil fuels to electric as part of the project.
It is expected construction at the international terminal will be finished in 2027.
Mr de Graaf said while guarantees are "very difficult to give" he remains confident the expansion project will be finished in time for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Mr de Graaf acknowledged that the work about to get underway would have "some impact on passengers".
"We will do everything possible to minimise that. That's why this is quite a lengthy project, because we do everything in incremental steps," he said.
But he said they do not expect the work to increase the time people spend at the airport and that people would not need to arrive any earlier than normal for flights.