Melbourne Airport facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Melbourne Airport
IATA: MEL ICAO: YMML WMO: 94866
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner/Operator	Australia Pacific Airports Corporation (APAC)
Serves	Melbourne
Location	Melbourne Airport, Victoria, Australia
Opened	1 July 1970; 55 years ago (1970-07-01)
Hub for	Qantas Virgin Australia
Elevation AMSL	434 ft / 132 m
Coordinates	37°40′24″S 144°50′36″E / 37.67333°S 144.84333°E / -37.67333; 144.84333
Runway
Runway Length Surface m ft 09/27 2,286 7,500 Grooved asphalt 16/34 3,657 11,998 Grooved asphalt
Statistics (2023–2024)
Passengers (2025) 36,151,615 Aircraft movements 217,041 Economic impact (2023) $17.7 billion Social impact (2023) 146,000 Land area 2,741 ha (6,770 acres)
Sources: Australian AIP and aerodrome chart Passengers and aircraft movements from the Bureau of Infrastructure & Transport Research Economics

Melbourne Airport (airport codes: MEL, YMML) is a big airport that serves Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is open 24 hours a day, every day of the week. You can find parking, shops, and places to eat there. Melbourne Airport is the second busiest airport in Australia for the number of passengers it handles.

The airport opened in 1970 and took over from Essendon Airport. It is the main international airport for the state of Victoria. Melbourne Airport has four main areas for passengers: one for international flights, two for domestic flights, and one for budget domestic flights. It is about 18 kilometers (11 miles) northwest of Melbourne's city center, next to a suburb called Tullamarine. The airport even has its own suburb and postcode, which is Melbourne Airport, 3045. The airport covers a large area of 2,741 hectares (about 6,773 acres).

In the year ending June 2024, about 24 million people flew on domestic flights and 11 million on international flights from this airport. You can fly directly from Melbourne to 33 places in Australia and to many countries in the Pacific, Europe, Asia, North America, and South America. Melbourne Airport is a major hub for airlines like Qantas and Virgin Australia. It is also the home base for Jetstar.

History of Melbourne Airport

Why a New Airport Was Needed

Before Melbourne Airport opened, Essendon Airport was Melbourne's main airport. It became an international airport in 1950. By the mid-1950s, many people were using Essendon Airport, and it started to get too small. Its runways were not long enough for the big jet planes, and the buildings could not handle all the passengers. Also, Essendon Airport could not be made bigger because it was surrounded by houses.

So, in 1958, people started looking for a new place to build an airport. They looked at several spots, but Tullamarine was chosen because it was close to Melbourne and would not cost too much to build. In 1959, the Australian Government bought a large area of land in Tullamarine.

Building and Opening the Airport

In May 1959, it was announced that a new airport would be built at Tullamarine. The Prime Minister, Robert Menzies, shared a plan in 1962 to build a "jetport" by 1967. Construction started in November 1964.

On July 1, 1970, Prime Minister John Gorton officially opened Melbourne Airport for international flights. This meant Essendon Airport was no longer Melbourne's international airport. Domestic flights also moved to Melbourne Airport on June 26, 1971. Later that year, the first Boeing 747 plane landed there. In its first year, Melbourne Airport served six international airlines and over 155,000 international passengers.

Melbourne Airport was first called "Melbourne International Airport." It is often called Tullamarine or Tulla by locals. This helps people tell it apart from other airports near Melbourne, like Avalon, Essendon, and Moorabbin.

Prime Minister John Gorton giving a speech at the opening of Melbourne Airport in 1970

When it first opened, Melbourne Airport had three connected terminals. The International terminal was in the middle. Ansett Australia had a terminal to the south, and Trans Australia Airlines had one to the north. The airport was designed to handle eight Boeing 707 planes at a time. By the late 1980s, the airport was getting very busy, with 900 passengers passing through each hour.

Growing and Becoming Private

In 1988, the Australian Government created the Federal Airports Corporation (FAC). This group took over running Melbourne Airport and 21 other airports. The FAC made many improvements to the airport. They expanded the domestic terminals and added a new retail area called "SkyPlaza" in the international terminal. In 1995, a new three-level area with 10 aerobridges was added, which doubled the airport's ability to handle international passengers.

In 1994, the government decided to sell off its airports. Melbourne Airport was bought by a new company called Australia Pacific Airports Corporation for $1.3 billion. This happened on June 30, 1997. Since then, the airport has continued to grow. New car parks and hotels were built. A large multi-story car park was finished in 1997. A hotel, now called the Parkroyal, was built above the car park and opened in 2000.

In December 2000, a fourth passenger terminal opened. It was called the Domestic Express Terminal and cost $9 million to build. This was the first new passenger terminal at Melbourne Airport since 1971.

In 2005, the airport got ready for the huge double-decker Airbus A380 planes. They made the main north-south runway wider and built special dual aerobridges. These bridges could board both levels of the A380 at the same time. Melbourne Airport was the first airport in Australia to be able to handle the A380. The first A380 test flight landed there in November 2005.

An Australian Airlines Boeing 727 plane at Melbourne Airport in 1988

More expansions happened in Terminal 2, which handles international flights. A $330 million project started in 2008 and finished in 2011. This added more gates, shops, and a new security area. In 2017, over 10 million international passengers used Melbourne Airport. In the financial year 2022/2023, this number grew to over 8 million international travelers after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Airport Terminals

Melbourne Airport has 68 gates for planes. 53 of these are for domestic flights and 15 are for international flights. There are also five special parking spots for cargo planes. The airport changed its terminal numbering system in July 2005.

Terminal 1

Terminal 1 is used for Qantas and QantasLink domestic flights.

The second pier at Terminal 1 was built in 1999.

Terminal 1 departures

Terminal 1 is where Qantas and QantasLink planes fly from for domestic and regional trips. On the first floor, you can check in, go through security, find a food court, and enter the Qantas lounges. Baggage claim is on the ground floor. This terminal has 16 gates with aerobridges and five gates without them, used by QantasLink.

Terminal 1 opened with the airport in 1970 for Trans Australia Airlines. Qantas took it over in 1992. It was improved between 1997 and 1999, adding a second pier and more aircraft stands. Today, there are many shops and food places in Terminal 1, especially near the entrance to Terminal 2. Qantas also has several lounges here.

Terminal 2

T2 departure gates

Terminal 2 handles all international flights and some domestic flights. It also opened in 1970. This terminal has 20 gates with aerobridges. Many airlines, like Cathay Pacific, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand, and Emirates, have special lounges here.

The international terminal displays artworks by famous Indigenous Australian artists. A big expansion of Terminal 2, costing $330 million, was finished in 2012. This project added new lounges, shops, and a new satellite terminal with large windows. This new area also has three double-decker aerobridges that can handle A380 planes or two smaller planes. The airport also added more baggage carousels to handle more luggage.

Terminal 3

Terminal 3's former interior

Terminal 3 opened with the airport as the Ansett Australia terminal. Now, Melbourne Airport owns it. This terminal is currently used by Virgin Australia. It has eleven gates with single aerobridges and eight gates without them.

Ansett added a second pier to this terminal in 1991 for smaller regional airlines. After Ansett stopped flying in 2001, Melbourne Airport bought the terminal back. They renovated it, and then Virgin Australia moved in. Virgin Australia now has a lounge in this terminal. Rex Airlines also has a lounge here.

Terminal 4

Pier with gates 41–52, part of Terminal 4

Terminal 4 is designed for budget airlines. It was first built for Virgin Blue and Impulse Airlines. Virgin Blue later moved to Terminal 3. The terminal was rebuilt starting in 2007 to be like budget terminals in other countries, with fewer fancy facilities. This means airlines pay lower fees to use it.

The new Terminal 4 opened on August 18, 2015. It is 35,000 square meters (376,737 square feet) and is connected to Terminal 3. Today, Rex Airlines, Jetstar, and Airnorth use Terminal 4. You can find check-in, baggage claim, and bag drop on the ground floor. The first floor has a food court, shops, and lounges.

Some Virgin Australia flights use the part of Terminal 4 that has jet bridges. Jetstar uses the part without jet bridges.

Southern Freighter Apron

This area has five special parking spots for cargo planes. It handles 21 dedicated cargo flights each week. The apron was made bigger in August 1997.

Other Facilities

Walkway to car park

Melbourne Airport has six hotels nearby. A Parkroyal Hotel is very close to Terminal 2. A Holiday Inn is a bit further away. There is also an Ibis Budget hotel for cheaper rooms. The Mantra Tullamarine hotel opened in 2009. A new Novotel and Ibis Styles hotel opened on July 1, 2024, just a short walk from the terminals. The Parkroyal hotel had a big update of its rooms in late 2023.

Airport Operations

Overview

Melbourne is Australia's second busiest airport. It operates 24 hours a day, with no curfew. This means planes can land and take off at any time. Between 2 AM and 4 AM, you will mostly see cargo planes. In 2004, the airport received a special award for its environmental management, being the first airport in Australia to get it.

Runways

Airport layout (as of May 2024)

Melbourne Airport has two runways that cross each other. One runs north-south and is 3,657 meters (11,998 feet) long. The other runs east-west and is 2,286 meters (7,500 feet) long. The airport plans to make these runways longer in the future.

In 2008, Melbourne Airport announced a new landing system called Category III. This system helps planes land safely even when there is very low visibility, like in fog. This system, the first of its kind in Australia, started working in March 2010.

Third Runway Plans

Because more and more planes are using Melbourne Airport, people have been talking about building a third runway since the 1990s. The airport's long-term plans have included ideas for two new runways.

In 2019, Melbourne Airport decided to build a new north-south runway to the west of the current one. This was chosen to reduce noise for people living in nearby suburbs. In September 2024, the Australian Government officially approved the building of this third runway. The airport will pay $3 billion for the project itself. Construction is expected to start in 2025 and finish by 2031. This new runway will help the airport handle more flights as Melbourne's population grows. However, some local residents and councils are concerned about noise and environmental effects.

Control Towers

The original control tower, January 2009

The first control tower opened in 1969 and is 47 meters (154 feet) tall. A taller, second control tower was built starting in 2010. It is 75 meters (246 feet) tall and began operating in 2013. The original tower is still there but is no longer used.

Melbourne Airspace Control Centre

Besides the control tower at the airport, Melbourne Airport is also home to Melbourne Centre. This is a big air traffic control facility. It is responsible for keeping planes separated in Australia's busiest air traffic area, called the Melbourne FIR. This area covers Victoria, Tasmania, southern New South Wales, most of South Australia, and the southern parts of Western Australia, plus parts of the Indian and Southern Ocean. This center controls 6% of all the airspace in the world!

Airlines and Destinations

Many different airlines fly to and from Melbourne Airport, connecting it to places all over Australia and the world.

Passenger Flights

Qantas also offers special "flightseeing" trips over Antarctica from Melbourne. These flights use a Boeing 787 Dreamliner and give a guided tour of Antarctica from the air. The whole trip takes about thirteen hours.

Cargo Flights

Airport Traffic and Statistics

Melbourne Airport is a very busy place! In 2016–17, about 25 million domestic passengers and 10 million international passengers used the airport. There were also nearly 240,000 aircraft movements in total that year. Melbourne Airport is the second busiest airport in Australia for passenger numbers, right after Sydney.

Total Annual Passengers

Annual passenger statistics for Melbourne Airport

Year	Domestic	International	Total	Change
1986	5,164,516	1,174,440	6,682,718	4.5%
1987	5,699,956	1,418,691	7,118,647	7.4%
1988	6,176,184	1,539,270	7,715,454	8.4%
1989	4,895,075	1,629,282	6,524,357	-15.4%
1990	6,143,657	1,717,191	7,860,848	20.5%
1991	7,939,506	1,703,956	9,643,372	22.7%
1992	8,172,013	1,737,596	9,909,969	2.8%
1993	8,646,398	1,847,877	10,494,273	5.9%
1994	9,619,815	1,871,508	11,491,323	9.5%
1995	10,481,695	2,011,154	12,492,849	8.7%
1996	11,097,264	2,193,309	13,290,573	6.4%
1997	11,127,711	2,373,135	13,600,846	2.3%
1998	11,429,141	2,489,132	13,918,273	1.8%
1999	11,900,956	2,654,807	14,555,763	4.1%
2000	12,933,747	3,043,629	15,977,376	8.7%
2001	13,265,849	3,315,572	16,581,421	2.6%
2002	12,883,149	3,313,751	16,196,900	-2.9%
2003	14,021,489	3,199,534	17,221,023	8.8%
2004	15,812,950	3,936,435	19,749,385	12.8%
2005	16,505,127	4,224,635	20,729,762	4.4%
2006	17,276,578	4,291,290	21,567,868	4.7%
2007	18,185,325	4,565,084	22,750,409	5.3%
2008	19,835,386	4,732,544	24,567,930	9.1%
2009	19,755,218	5,130,352	24,885,570	-0.4%
2010	21,522,253	5,872,511	27,394,764	8.9%
2011	21,206,546	6,460,958	27,667,504	-1.5%
2012	22,098,350	6,819,242	28,917,592	4.2%
2013	22,908,284	7,312,143	30,220,427	3.7%
2014	23,364,327	8,022,466	31,386,793	2.0%
2015	23,930,897	8,859,316	32,790,213	2.4%
2016	24,732,603	9,642,586	34,375,189	3.4%
2017	25,235,738	10,323,782	35,559,520	2.0%
2018	25,692,745	11,223,884	36,916,629	1.8%
2019	25,815,647	11,318,644	37,134,291	0.5%
2020	6,462,941	2,434,451	8,897,392	-75.0%
2021	6,763,686	396,590	7,160,276	4.7%
2022	20,309,831	5,381,023	25,690,854	200.3%
2023	22,504,461	8,278,905	30,783,366	17%
2024	24,091,510	11,036,457	35,127,967	14.1%
2025	24,198,353	11,953,262	36,151,615	2.9%

Busiest Domestic Routes

Busiest domestic passenger routes for Melbourne Airport (year to 31 December 2023)

Rank	Airport	Passengers handled	% change
1	Sydney	8,202,400	24.8%
2	Brisbane	3,562,700	26.9%
3	Adelaide	2,464,500	25.4%
4	Gold Coast	2,422,100	5.7%
5	Perth	2,085,500	54.7%
6	Hobart	1,408,100	29.6%
7	Canberra	1,073,600	26.3%
8	Launceston	886,700	30.5%
9	Cairns	870,900	6.8%
10	Sunshine Coast	807,700	11.5%
11	Newcastle	454,500	19.0%
12	Darwin	304,200	-0.1%
13	Mildura	178,800	27.5%
14	Devonport	132,000	35.2%

Busiest International Routes

Busiest international routes – Melbourne Airport (year ending 30 June 2024)

Rank	Airport	Passengers handled	% change	Airlines
1	Singapore	1,700,851	11.6%	Emirates, Jetstar, Qantas, Scoot, Singapore Airlines, Turkish Airlines
2	Auckland	1,040,701	17.5%	Air New Zealand, Jetstar, Qantas
3	Denpasar	943,706	21.1%	Batik Air Malaysia, Garuda Indonesia, Jetstar, Qantas, Virgin Australia
4	Dubai	644,363	4.4%	Emirates
5	Hong Kong	604,001	116.9%	Cathay Pacific, Qantas
6	Kuala Lumpur	547,587	28.4%	AirAsia X, Batik Air Malaysia, Malaysia Airlines
7	Bangkok	463,122	8.8%	Jetstar, Thai Airways International
8	Ho Chi Minh City	450,791	47.5%	Jetstar, VietJet Air, Vietnam Airlines
9	Doha	416,961	15.4%	Qatar Airways
10	Guangzhou	350,195	356.3%	China Southern Airlines
11	Christchurch	269,036	20.0%	Air New Zealand, Jetstar, Qantas
12	Queenstown	257,393	17.0%	Air New Zealand, Jetstar, Qantas, Virgin Australia
13	Shanghai	254,015	455.2%	China Eastern Airlines
14	Nadi	252,390	25.7%	Fiji Airways, Jetstar, Virgin Australia
15	Los Angeles	246,629	25.8%	Qantas, United Airlines

Awards and Recognition

Melbourne Airport has won many awards over the years. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) named it one of the top five airports in the world in 1997 and 1998. In 2003, it received the IATA's Eagle Award for great service.

The airport has also won national and state tourism awards. Singapore Airlines gave it the Service Partner Award and Premier Business Partner Award in 2002 and 2004. In 2006, the airport won an award for its runway widening project. In 2012, the Parkroyal Melbourne Airport hotel was named the best airport hotel in Australia/the Pacific by Skytrax. Melbourne Airport's ranking on Skytrax World's Top 100 Airports List improved from 43rd in 2012 to 27th in 2018.

Getting To and From the Airport

By Road

Tullamarine Freeway at the Calder Freeway interchange

Melbourne Airport is about 23 kilometers (14 miles) from the city center. You can get there using the Tullamarine Freeway. One exit from the freeway goes right into the airport. Another exit to the south is for cargo, taxis, buses, and airport staff. In June 2015, the Airport Drive extension was finished, creating another main road to the airport. The Tullamarine Freeway was also made wider in late 2018. In mid-2023, a new exit was built just for Terminal 4.

Melbourne Airport has five car parks, all open 24/7. The short-term, multi-level long-term, business, and express car parks are covered. The main multi-level car park in front of the terminal was built in the late 1990s and has been expanded since.

Public Transport

Bus and Shuttle Services

A SkyBus traveling to Melbourne Airport

The SkyBus offers fast bus services from the airport to Southern Cross railway station in the city center and to St Kilda. There are also shuttle services that go to the Mornington Peninsula, stopping in places like St Kilda, Elsternwick, Brighton, and Frankston. SkyBus carries about 3.4 million passengers between the airport and Melbourne's city center each year.

Regular public buses also go to or near the airport. Routes 478, 479, and 482 go to Airport West. Route 479 also goes to Sunbury railway station, where you can catch trains. Route 901 is a frequent bus service that connects to trains at several stations, including Broadmeadows and Epping. V/Line also runs regional coach services that stop at the airport.

Nine other bus companies serve the airport, offering services to various towns and suburbs around Melbourne.

Future Train Connection

Map of the planned Melbourne Airport Rail route, which started early construction in 2022 and is set to open from 2033. The link will run through the Melbourne CBD via the under-construction Metro Tunnel.

As of now, Melbourne Airport does not have a train connection to the city. People have been talking about building a train link since the airport opened in 1970.

In 2022, the state government started early construction on the Melbourne Airport Rail (SRL Airport). It was first expected to be finished by 2029. However, due to disagreements between the government and the airport about the design of the airport train station, major construction has been delayed. The train link is now expected to open by 2033. This 27-kilometer (17-mile) link will go through Sunshine station in Melbourne's west and into the city center using the Metro Tunnel that is currently being built. It will connect to regional train services at Sunshine and to other city train services at Sunshine, Footscray, and State Library and Town Hall in the city center. This will be the first direct train connection to the airport.

The plan released in 2022 showed that the Airport station would be built high up, about six stories tall. This design helps save money and time during construction. The airport operator, Australia Pacific Airports Corporation (APAC), first wanted the station to be built underground. They thought an underground station would be better for future airport expansions and connections to another planned train line called the Suburban Rail Loop. In July 2024, Melbourne Airport agreed to the government's plan for an elevated station, allowing detailed planning to continue.

See also

In Spanish: Aeropuerto Internacional Tullamarine para niños

• City of Keilor – the former local government area of which Melbourne Airport was a part
• List of airports in Victoria
• Transport in Australia