Melbourne Airport

Introduction

Melbourne Airport (MEL), or Tullamarine Airport, is Australia's second busiest airport. It is the only international airport serving Melbourne.

For more information about other airports throughout the world, also see the list of airports.

Getting there and away

The airport is located 23 kilometres out of Melbourne's centre.

Public Transport

Several local bus routes stop at the airport. These are the cheapest way to get to the airport because it means you can use your regular Metcard. The best of these is Route 901 which travels from Frankston in Melbourne's southeast to the Airport in a wide circle around the city. To get in to the city centre, you can catch the 901 bus to the Broadmeadows train station and catch a regular train in from there. The bus stop can be found if you walk down past Terminal 4 (the airport likes to hide this option from people unfortunately).

• Route 901 (Frankston - Melbourne Airport) - Phone: +61 3 9791 2988
• Route 478 (Moonee Ponds Junction-Melbourne Airport)
• Route 479 (Moonee Ponds-Sunbury)
• Route 500 (Broadmeadows Railway Station-Victoria University in Sunbury)

Shuttle Buses

The Skybus takes passengers to and from Southern Cross Station on Spencer Street. It takes approximately 20 minutes to make the trip. Southern Cross Station is the main train station for state-wide rail and bus services, making for easy connections.

The Airport Bus Eastside provides shuttle services to the Northern and Eastern suburbs of Melbourne. - Phone: +61 3 9729 7622

There are a number of shuttle bus services to the following regional centres in Victoria.

• Ballarat Area - Phone: +61 3 5333 4181
• Bendigo Area - Phone: + 61 3 5444 3939
• Dandenong Area - Phone: +61 3 9782 6766
• Frankston & Penninsula Bus Service - Phone: +61 3 9783 1199
• Geelong Area Gull Airport Services - Phone: +61 3 5222 4966
• Shepparton & Southern Riverina District - Phone: +61 3 5831 7374
• Wodonga & North East Alpine Region - Phone: +61 3 5831 7374

Taxis

Getting a taxi into the city will cost you around $40-$50. Several surcharges may be passed on to the customer including an airport parking charge ($2-$3), a tollway charge ($6) , a late night charge for trips between midnight and 5am (20% extra), a phone booking fee ($2.10).^[1]

Taxis can be found at the ground floor of the airport outside of Terminal 2 (International) and outside the domestic Terminals 1 and 3.

Getting around

The airport can easily be navigated on foot. The domestic terminals (T1,T3) and international terminal (T2) are connected and not hard to reach. Terminal 4, which serves the budget airline Tiger Airways, is not connected, but is within walking distance of the other terminals.

Airlines, Destinations and Terminals

Terminal 1 is a terminal for domestic flights by Qantas and Jetstar:

• Jetstar Airways Adelaide to Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Gold Coast, Hamilton Island, Hobart, Launceston, Newcastle, Perth, Singapore, Sunshine Coast, Sydney, Townsville
• Qantas to Adelaide, Alice Springs, Brisbane, Broome, Cairns, Canberra, Hobart, Perth, Sydney
• Qantas operated by QantasLink to Canberra, Devonport, Launceston, Mildura

Terminal 2 is the international terminal:

• AirAsia X - Kuala Lumpur
• Air China - Beijing, Shanghai
• Air India - Delhi
• Air Mauritius - Mauritius
• Air New Zealand - Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Queenstown, Wellington
• Fiji Airways - Nadi
• Air Vanuatu - Port Vila
• Cathay Pacific - Hong Kong
• China Eastern Airlines - Shanghai
• China Southern Airlines - Guangzhou
• Emirates - Auckland, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore
• Etihad Airways - Abu Dhabi
• Garuda Indonesia - Denpasar/Bali, Jakarta
• Jetstar Airways - Bangkok, Christchurch, Denpasar/Bali, Honolulu, Sydney
• Korean Air - Seoul
• Malaysia Airlines - Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur
• Norfolk Air operated by Our Airline - Norfolk Island
• Philippine Airlines - Manila
• Qantas - Adelaide, Alice Springs, Brisbane, Broome, Cairns, Canberra, Hobart, Karratha, Perth, Sydney, Hong Kong, London-Heathrow, Los Angeles, Queenstown, Singapore
• Qantas operated by Jetconnect - Auckland, Wellington
• Qantas operated by QantasLink - Canberra, Devonport, Launceston, Mildura
• Qatar Airways - Doha
• Royal Brunei Airlines - Bandar Seri Begawan
• Singapore Airlines - Singapore
• Thai Airways International - Bangkok
• United Airlines - Los Angeles
• V Australia - Johannesburg, Los Angeles, Phuket
• Vietnam Airlines - Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City
• Virgin Blue operated by Pacific Blue - Auckland, Christchurch, Denpasar/Bali, Nadi

Terminal 3 is another domestic terminal for several airlines:

• Virgin Blue - Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Canberra, Coffs Harbour, Darwin, Gold Coast, Hobart, Launceston, Mildura, Newcastle, Perth, Sunshine Coast, Sydney
• Regional Express - Albury, Burnie, Griffith, King Island, Merimbula, Mildura, Mount Gambier, Wagga Wagga
• Skywest Airlines - Kalgoolie, Perth

Terminal 4 is the hub for budget domestic airline Tiger Airways:

• Tiger Airways Australia - Adelaide, Alice Springs, Brisbane, Canberra, Gold Coast, Hobart, Launceston, Mackay, Perth, Rockhampton, Sunshine Coast, Sydney

Sleep

There are several options to stay near the airport. The closest of these are within walking distance of the terminals

• Parkroyal Melbourne Airport (directly opposite the terminals)
• Holiday Inn Melbourne Airport
• ibis Budget - Melbourne Airport - the cheapest of the three

There are also a number of hotels that offer shuttle bus services to the airport. For more general Melbourne accommodation recommendations, read our guide on where to stay in Melbourne

Keeping connected

There are wireless hotspots throughout the airport that you can connect to. Fees do apply. At the time of writing, they range from $4 for 15 minutes up to $20 for 2 hours.