Melbourne Airport recorded its busiest day since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, with 119,740 passengers passing through the terminals on Grand Final Friday (27 September). The all-interstate Grand Final between the Brisbane Lions and Sydney Swans also helped deliver the busiest week at Melbourne Airport since the pandemic, with a total of 759,291 travellers welcomed between 24 and 30 September.
It was Virgin Australia’s busiest ever month at Melbourne Airport, with the airline carrying more passengers through its T3 hub than at any other time since it first started flying to Melbourne in May 2001. Melbourne Airport is Virgin Australia’s largest base and has worked with the airline to add extra capacity and expand its network, with flights to Uluru launching earlier this year.
The 983,158 international travellers processed was a new all-time September record, representing 10 percent year-on-year growth. Across the month of September, a total of 2,999,287 passengers used the airport, which is up 3.3% on September 2023, but down 3.8% on September 2019.
Melbourne Airport CEO Lorie Argus said the airport was investing in infrastructure to better serve both domestic and international passengers. “September was a milestone month for Melbourne Airport, with some new record passenger numbers and the approval of our planned third runway,” she said. “When it opens in 2031, the third runway will deliver the airfield capacity we need to meet Victoria’s growth for decades to come. Virgin Australia has made significant investments in Melbourne, and we are well underway to deliver terminal improvements that will support their continued growth. A new aerobridge at Gate 10 is scheduled to open in the coming weeks, and the expansion of the Virgin Australia baggage hall is also progressing well, with new escalators on track to open ahead of Christmas.
“The growth in international traveller numbers has been facilitated by new and increased flights and while that’s fantastic, it has also placed pressure on some of our terminal infrastructure during peak times,” Argus said. “We are now in discussions with our airline partners about what an expansion of our international terminal footprint might look like, and the timeframes in which it could be delivered. We’d like to thank passengers for their patience while we undertake these important works and build the much-needed new terminal road network.”
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