Melbourne Airport , colloquially known as Tullamarine Airport, is an international airport serving Melbourne, Victoria, the second largest city in Australia. It is located in the suburb of Melbourne Airport, approximately northwest of the Melbourne city centre.
The airport served over 36 million passengers in 2025, making it the second busiest airport in Australia by passenger movements after Sydney Airport. It opened in 1970 in the suburb of Tullamarine, replacing Essendon Airport for all international flights. It is also the main international gateway to the state of Victoria. The airport has a consolidated four-terminal layout with one international terminal, two standard domestic terminals and a terminal for low-cost domestic airlines, covering of airport property. It was specifically built to operate without a curfew and is Australia's busiest 24-hour airport.
It serves as a major hub for Qantas, Virgin Australia and Jetstar, and is also the headquarters of cargo airline Team Global Express.
History Background Prior to the opening of Melbourne Airport, Victoria's main airport was Essendon Airport. Designated an international airport in 1950, Essendon experienced rapid growth in the post-war period. By the mid-1950s, rising passenger numbers exposed significant limitations: runways were too short for large jet aircraft, and terminal facilities were inadequate. An international overflow terminal was established in a new northern hangar, but further expansion was impossible as the airport had become surrounded by residential subdivisions.
Site selection The search for a replacement for Essendon commenced in February 1958, when a panel was appointed to assess Melbourne's civil aviation needs. Alternative sites considered were Tullamarine (14.5 km from Melbourne), Whittlesea (35 km), Hastings (60 km), Port Melbourne (5 km), Werribee (32 km), Laverton (19 km), Avalon (58 km) and Moorabbin (19 km).
Considerations such as superior proximity to Melbourne and lower development costs narrowed the choice to either Tullamarine or Laverton, with Laverton eventually eliminated in part due to issues coordinating both military and civil activities that could not guarantee the degree of safety demanded, and that traffic coordination would be easier with the shorter distance between Essendon and Tullamarine.
Planning and development In May 1959, it was officially announced that the Commonwealth Government had acquired 5,300 hectares of rural grassland in Tullamarine to build the new Melbourne Airport. Preliminary approval was granted in March 1960, and intense planning resulted over the following two years. In 1962, Prime Minister Robert Menzies formally adopted a five-year master plan which aimed to develop the airport by 1967. Construction began in November 1964.
In 1966, it was announced that Paul Fayman, Leon Velik, Joseph Emanuel and Irvin Rockman had partnered with the Petersville Corporation to operate and manage the airport's several restaurants and bars. This included the prominent Top Air restaurant, which overlooked the airport and its operations. The following year, an affiliate company obtained the lease of a large vacant space adjacent to the future terminal building and released plans to build an aviation-themed entertainment complex.
Known as the Astrojet Space and Science Centre, it had a 300-seat cinema, an observation deck, shops, cafes and aviation exhibits with a guided-tour service. A Travelodge hotel with 240 beds and a service station were developed on adjoining land.
Official opening
On 1 July 1970, Prime Minister John Gorton opened Melbourne Airport to international operations. This ended Essendon's nearly two-decade run as Melbourne's international airport. Essendon still was home to domestic flights for one year, until they transferred to Melbourne Airport on 26 June 1971, with the first arrival of a Boeing 747 occurring later that year. In the first year of operations, Melbourne handled six international airlines and 155,275 international passengers.
In order to distinguish it from Melbourne's other airports, Melbourne Airport is unofficially known as "Tullamarine Airport", or more informally as "Tullamarine" or "Tulla".
On opening, Melbourne Airport consisted of three connected terminals: International in the centre, with Ansett to the South and Trans Australia Airlines to the North. The design capacity of the airport was eight Boeing 707s at a rate of 500 passengers per hour, with minor expansion works completed in 1973 allowing Boeing 747s to serve the airport. By the late 1980s peak passenger flows at the airport had reached 900 per hour, causing major congestion.
In late 1989, Federal Airports Corporation Inspector A. Rohead was put in charge of a bicentennial project to rename streets in Melbourne Airport to honour the original inhabitants, European pioneers and aviation history. Information on the first two categories was provided by Ian Hunter, Wurundjeri researcher, and Ray Gibb, local historian. The project was completed but was shelved, with the only suggested name, Gowrie Park Drive, being allocated, named after the farm at the heart of the airport. During the 1920s, the farm had been used as a landing site for aircraft, which were parked at night during World War II in case Essendon Aerodrome was bombed.Federal Airports Corporation documents, "Bulla Bulla" I.W. Symonds, the late Harry Heaps and Wally Mansfield
Expansion and privatisation
In 1988, the Australian Government formed the Federal Airports Corporation (FAC), placing Melbourne Airport under the operational control of the new corporation along with 21 other airports around the nation.
The FAC undertook a number of upgrades at the airport. The first major upgrades were carried out at the domestic terminals, with an expansion of the Ansett domestic terminal approved in 1989 and completed in 1991, adding a second pier for use by smaller regional airlines. Work on an upgrade of the international terminal commenced in 1991, with the "SkyPlaza" retail complex completed in late 1993 on a site flanking the main international departure gates. The rest of the work was completed in 1995, when the new three-level satellite concourse was opened at the end of the existing concourse. Diamond shaped and measuring on each side, the additional 10 aerobridges provided by the expansion doubled the international passenger handing capacity at Melbourne Airport.
In April 1994, the Australian Government announced that all airports operated by FAC would be privatized in several phases. Melbourne Airport was included in the first phase, being acquired by the newly formed Australia Pacific Airports Corporation for $1.3 billion. The transfer was completed on 30 June 1997 on a 50-year long-term lease, with the option for a further 49 years. Melbourne Airport is categorized as a Leased Commonwealth Airport.Leased Federal Airports, Australian Government Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development (accessed 4 September 2014)
Since privatization, further improvements to infrastructure have begun at the airport, including expansion of runways, car parks and terminals. The multi-storey carpark outside the terminal was completed between 1995 and August 1997 at a cost of $49 million, providing 3,100 parking spaces, the majority undercover. This initially four-level structure replaced the previous open air carpark outside the terminal. Work commenced on the six-story 276-room Hilton Hotel (now Parkroyal) above the carpark in January 1999, which was completed in mid-2000 at a cost of $55 million. Expansion of the Qantas domestic terminal was completed in 1999, featuring a second pier and 9 additional aircraft stands.
In December 2000, a fourth passenger terminal opened: the Domestic Express Terminal, located to the south of the main terminal building at a cost of $9 million. It was the first passenger terminal facility to be built at Melbourne Airport since 1971.
Expansion of carparks has also continued with a $40 million project commenced in 2004, doubling the size of the short term carpark with the addition of 2,500 spaces over six levels, along with 1,200 new spaces added to the 5,000 already available in the long term carpark. Revenue from retail operations at Melbourne Airport broke the $100 million mark for the first time in 2004, this being a 100 per cent increase in revenue since the first year of privatization.
In 2005, the airport undertook construction works to prepare the airport for the arrival of the double-decker Airbus A380. The main work was the widening of the main north–south runway by , which was completed over a 29-day period in May 2005. The improvements also included the construction of dual airbridges (Gates 9 and 11) with the ability to board both decks simultaneously to reduce turnaround times, the extension of the international terminal building by to include new penthouse airline lounges, and the construction of an additional baggage carousel in the arrivals hall. As a result, the airport was the first in Australia to be capable of handling the A380. The A380 made its first test flight into the airport on 14 November 2005. On 15 May 2008, the A380 made its first passenger flight into the airport when a Singapore Airlines Sydney-bound flight was diverted from Sydney Airport because of fog. Beginning services in October 2008, Qantas was the first airline to operate the A380 from the airport, flying nonstop to Los Angeles International Airport twice a week. This was the inaugural route for the Qantas A380.
In March 2006, the airport undertook a expansion of Terminal 2, and the construction of an additional level of airline lounges above the terminal. In 2008 a further expansion of Terminal 2 commenced, costing $330 million with completion in 2011. The works added five aerobridges on a new passenger concourse, and a new outbound passenger security and customs processing zone.
In 2017, Melbourne Airport international passenger movements exceeded 10 million annual travellers. In the Financial Year of 2022/2023, international passenger movements exceeded 8 million travellers, up 330% post-COVID.
The airport set a new monthly record for international passengers in January 2026 with 1.261 million travellers passing through Terminal 2.
Terminals
Melbourne Airport's terminals have 68 gates: 53 domestic and 15 international. There are five dedicated freighter parking positions on the Southern Freighter Apron. The current terminal numbering system was introduced in July 2005; they were previously known as Qantas Domestic, International, and South (formerly Ansett Domestic).
Terminal 1
Terminal 1 hosts domestic and regional services for Qantas Group airlines, Qantas and QantasLink (which is located to the northern end of the building). Check-in, security, a food court and the entrance to the Qantas Lounge Precinct are located on the first floor, while baggage claim is located on the ground floor. The terminal has 16 parking bays served by aerobridges; 12 are served by single aerobridges whilst four are served by double aerobridges. There are another five non-aerobridge gates, which are used by QantasLink.
Opened with Melbourne Airport in 1970 for Trans Australia Airlines, the terminal passed to Qantas in 1992 when it acquired the airline. Work on improving the original terminal commenced in October 1997 and was completed in late 1999 at a cost of $50 million, featuring a second pier, stands for 9 additional aircraft, an extended access roadway and the expansion of the terminal.
Today, a wide range of shops and food outlets are situated at the end of the terminal near the entrance into Terminal 2. Qantas has a Qantas Club, Domestic Business Lounge and a Chairman's Lounge in the terminal.
Terminal 2