Turkish Airlines was a recent arrival onto the Australian inbound market when it launched a service into Melbourne. Photo: supplied
Melbourne Airport is exploring a major expansion of its international terminal after 12 months of talks with airlines and a record December.
The airport says December was its busiest month on record for international travel with 1,147,533 passengers; that is up 10.6 per cent on December 2023.
The airport handled 5.98m overseas passengers for 2024-25, or an extra 9.2 percent for the 2023-24 period.
International seat capacity into the 24-hour airport is at 113 per cent of pre- pandemic levels.
Melbourne Airport CEO Lorie Argus says plans are being drawn up in response to the pressures arising from greater passenger demand; the current terminal often requires bussing during peak periods.
“We’re setting new records for international passenger numbers and as Melbourne’s population grows, it’s important that our infrastructure grows too,” she says.
“During peak periods we are already experiencing regular congestion in the international arrivals area so it’s obvious to us that our passengers and airlines need more space.
“The upgrade of our baggage system is the first step of an ambitious expansion of our international terminal,” Argus says.
“More gates, more aircraft parking stands, more check-in space, and a larger baggage reclaim hall, combined with construction of Melbourne Airport’s third runway, would allow airlines to add more flights during peak times, which would give consumers and Victorian exporters more choice.”
She is hopeful that the plans will be complete by June.
WORKS IN PROGRESS
The airport says that a new elevated road network to be completed in 2026 will allow for an expansion of the international check-in and baggage claim halls.
Talks are continuing on an expanded international satellite area to increase airline lounges, retail outlets and passenger waiting areas, and provide up to five new widebody gates.
The airport is midway through a $500 million project to replace its international baggage system with a new, state-of-the-art tote-based system which will increase capacity by allowing for any-time check-in and early bag storage.
The last expansion of the international terminal was in 2011 when five gates and 41,000 square metres of extra space were added.
