Melbourne Airport has reported a record number of international arrivals, underpinning the busiest month for the airport, with people making the most of additional capacity and flocking to Melbourne for the Australian Open.
688,534 international arrivals were among the 1,261,361 travellers welcomed through Australia’s largest 24-hour international gateway in January, alongside 2,115,518 domestic passengers.
The overall total of 3,376,879 made January the airport’s third busiest month on record, just behind December and January 2025.
Friday 9 January was the busiest day ever recorded in the international terminal, with 45,106 people welcomed through the doors.
Across January, Melbourne Airport welcomed more than 59,000 Chinese passport holders, 57,000 New Zealand passport holders, 29,000 Indian passport holders, 23,000 United Kingdom passport holders and 18,000 passport holders from the United States.
A further 29,000 United Kingdom passport holders flew out of Melbourne, following Australia’s victory in the Ashes series.
Melbourne Airport CEO Lorie Argus said January’s numbers highlighted the value of Melbourne’s major events in bringing international visitors to the state’s hotels, restaurants and sporting venues.
Where is the long promised Melbourne Airport Rail Link? What must people be thinking when they arrive and find the airport is 30 years behind most other international and domestic airports with rail services to the major city?
“Melbourne Airport supports one in every 16 Victorian jobs, and each average daily international flight is worth $190 million a year to the state economy,” Argus said. “We’re proud to be Australia’s largest 24-hour airport, and we’re investing in significant new infrastructure, including a third runway, to cater for growing demand for international travel and the benefits that brings to Victoria.
“Our new $500 million international baggage system is in its final stages of commissioning and when it opens it will more than double the capacity of our existing outbound system, while also paving the way for passenger experience enhancements such as anytime check-in.
