{"id":502850,"date":"2026-02-25T09:42:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T09:42:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/502850\/"},"modified":"2026-02-25T09:42:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T09:42:14","slug":"air-hubs-4-5-billion-improvement-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/502850\/","title":{"rendered":"Air hub\u2019s $4.5 billion improvement plan"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Chris<\/p>\n

February 25, 2026 \u2014 4:11pm<\/p>\n

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The nation\u2019s busiest 24-hour airport has announced plans to expand its international terminal through several projects aimed at supersizing its capacity to serve long-haul travel.<\/p>\n

Melbourne Airport\u2019s $4.5 billion improvement plan will include expanding its international terminal\u2019s check-in hall, adding bigger lounge facilities, and adding five new gates for wide-body planes, which it said would give \u201cairlines more flexibility to schedule flights\u201d.<\/p>\n

Those gates can also accommodate eight narrow-body planes.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The key to the growth plan, according to Melbourne Airport, is the opening of new pick-up and drop-off zones in front of terminals T1, T2, and T3 in September 2026, which will make room for the international terminal to come forward into the existing forecourt.<\/p>\n

Melbourne Airport chief executive officer Lorie Argus said improvements in the terminal would complement the planned third runway, due to open in 2031.<\/p>\n

\u201cIncreased capacity on our airfield and terminals will allow airlines to schedule more flights to more places, which will give consumers and exporters more choice,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"AnAn image suggests what the airport\u2019s new gates would look like.Melbourne Airport<\/p>\n

The $4.5 billion expansion will be funded privately, with support from the airlines themselves, who have agreed \u201cin principle\u201d to the changes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve spent several months working collaboratively with the airlines to ensure these plans meet their needs, while also delivering an improved experience for our travellers in both arrivals and departures,\u201d Argus said.<\/p>\n

Melbourne Airport will face more competition for international travel following the opening of\u00a0 Western Sydney International Airport<\/a>, scheduled to open this year. Avalon Airport in Victoria is also resuming international flights, with Jetstar flights to Bali being launched next month.<\/a><\/p>\n

Assistant Minister for Citizenship, Customs and Multicultural Affairs Julian Hill said that \u201cdemand for domestic and international travel at Melbourne Airport is growing rapidly, and Victorians and visitors alike will welcome these improvements which can\u2019t come too soon\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"NewNew seating planned for Melbourne Airport\u2019s expansion.<\/p>\n

As for improvements with border security, which still relies on kiosks and paper declaration slips, Argus said Melbourne Airport was still \u201ckeen to work with the federal government on upgrades to border processing technology and facilities to help further improve the arrivals experience for international travellers\u201d.<\/p>\n

Early works on the first stage of the international terminal expansion will start after the opening of Melbourne Airport\u2019s new road network in September.<\/p>\n

Melbourne Airport, which opened in 1970, has four terminals: one international, two domestic and one for budget domestic flights. It has expanded steadily over the years, helped both by a booming demand for travel and Victoria\u2019s robust population growth.<\/p>\n

\"AnAn artist\u2019s rendering of Melbourne Airport\u2019s $4.5 billion expansion of the international terminal.Melbourne Airport<\/p>\n

January set a record for international travel, with more than 1.26 million international passengers passing through the airport in that month.<\/p>\n

Australian Airports Association CEO Simon Westaway said Melbourne Airport\u2019s International Terminal expansion is an important investment in the country\u2019s overall aviation network.<\/p>\n

The project demonstrates the effectiveness of the current regulations \u201cenabling timely, market-led investment\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n

However, the benefits of the new terminal could be held up by persistent problems with the border.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Western<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cTo fully realise these benefits, we now need greater federal government investment in border and biosecurity modernisation, such as digitising the incoming passenger arrivals card, to ensure a seamless and efficient travel experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"ChrisChris Zappone<\/a> is a senior reporter covering aviation and business. He is former digital foreign editor.Connect via X<\/a>, Facebook<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"February 25, 2026 \u2014 4:11pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":502851,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64,63,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-502850","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-business"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=502850"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502850\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/502851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=502850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=502850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=502850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}