More than 900,000 international passengers travelled through Melbourne Airport last month for a new February record, up 102 per cent on the previous busiest February in 2019, thanks partly to visiting musical acts Taylor Swift, Blink-182 and Pink and the extra leap year day.
The 915,456 international travellers were among the 2.8 million people welcomed to Melbourne Airport overall in February, just 7,301 less than the February record set in 2019.
The numbers also reflect a year-on-year growth of 39 per cent in international passengers, while domestic travellers were up 18 per cent on February 2023 figures.
For FY24 to date, Melbourne Airport is up 43 per cent for international passengers with almost 7.5 million travellers.
Melbourne Airport CEO Lorie Argus said the strong international figures highlighted new international airlines and infrastructure plans to accommodate more carriers and travellers during peak times.
“In recent months we’ve welcomed new services from Turkish Airlines, Asiana Airlines, Vietjet, Aircalin and Jetstar, which mean more options for travellers and Victorian exporters but our infrastructure needs to keep pace with demand,” she said.
“We’ve already started work to upgrade our international facilities, including a $500 million investment in a new state-of-the-art baggage system and a refresh of the arrivals hall.
“We have also submitted plans for a parallel north-south runway, which will ensure we have sufficient capacity to accommodate international airlines and put competitive pressure on airfares.”
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