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Melbourne Airport has seen an 8 per cent rise in international passengers since last August, though Rex’s axing of jet services has slightly hurt domestic capacity.
The airport’s international terminal saw 922,916 passengers in August 2024, up from 849,710 in 2023, while domestic figures dropped 0.4 per cent year-on-year to 1,962,992. In total, excluding transits, 2,885,908 passengers passed through Melbourne in August, up 2.4 per cent year-on-year.
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Compared to August 2018 – the last full financial year before COVID-19 – passport holders from Vietnam are up 54 per cent, Philippines up 48 per cent, South Korea up 46 per cent, and Türkiye up almost 20 per cent.
In the financial year to August, international travel was up 8.8 per cent and domestic up 0.8 per cent on the same time last year, for a total increase of 3.2 per cent, while for the month of August, international seat capacity was at 101 per cent of 2019 levels.
According to Melbourne Airport chief of aviation Jim Parashos, the airport’s international growth has offset a still-stagnant domestic recovery.
“We have worked hard to attract new airlines to Melbourne Airport at the same time as growing our list of destinations, meaning Victorian travellers and exporters have more choice than ever,” he said.
“Melbourne Airport’s planned third runway will increase capacity and give new and existing carriers the room they need to grow, which ultimately means a better offering for travellers.”
As of July, Melbourne’s recovery was still behind that of Perth, which saw a record-breaking year in FY2023–24, driven primarily by regional travel, after becoming the first major Australian gateway to surpass total pre-pandemic passenger traffic in January.
However, Melbourne’s cargo capacity has climbed above pre-pandemic levels as of the first quarter of calendar year 2024, making it Australia’s biggest air freight hub.
Melbourne in December became the first Australian airport to exceed pre-pandemic international capacity in a month that saw it break 1 million monthly international passengers for the first time since the pandemic, with the airport also setting a new all-time monthly record for international flights at 4,976.
The airport in March set a new monthly record for international travellers at 923,065, fuelled by the arrival of Turkish Airlines, which began its Istanbul service at the beginning of that month.
