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Melbourne Airport is investing $81 million into upgrading the Virgin Australia arrivals hall.
The project, slated for completion in 2025, will see the size of the hall almost doubled, the existing three baggage carousels lengthened, a new carousel and oversized baggage collection point constructed, and new central escalators and anti-passback gates installed.
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According to Melbourne Airport’s chief of aviation, Jim Parashos, the expansion will give Virgin passengers 85 per cent more carousel space and a quicker and more comfortable baggage collection experience.
“This project will reshape Terminal 3 and increase our baggage capacity while also creating a ground floor connection to Terminal 4,” he said.
“Virgin Australia is now the biggest domestic carrier at Melbourne Airport with millions of passengers passing through Terminal 3 every year, so it’s important we build now to cater for future growth.”
Virgin Australia’s chief customer and digital officer, Paul Jones, added that the upgrades reflect growing passenger numbers at Melbourne Airport.
“Virgin Australia’s domestic capacity at Melbourne Airport is higher than it was last year and pre-COVID,” he said.
“We want our guests to have a wonderful experience when they fly with us, so we are investing in the areas that matter most, from the ground to the air.
“That also includes launching Australia’s first-ever airline baggage tracking tool, rolling out Rapid Rebook technology to improve the experience in the event of disruption, investing in new latest-generation aircraft, and embarking on a $110 million cabin refurbishment of our existing 737 fleet.”
Virgin Australia this year returned to profit after 11 years of losses.
