Virgin Australia’s arrivals hall at Melbourne Airport is about to get a makeover that will see it almost double in size.
Worth $81 million, the Melbourne Airport expansion will include the installation of a new baggage carousel and oversized bag pick-up point. Additionally, the three existing carousels will be extended and upgraded.
Creating the first ground-floor link between terminals 3 and 4, the project will also include new arrival escalators and anti-pass back gates.
All up, Virgin Australia passengers will have 85 per cent more carousel space upon the project’s completion in 2025.
Melbourne Airport Chief of Aviation Jim Parashos said the upgrade will make baggage collection – a woe for many flyers – a more pleasant experience.
“Jostling for a spot to grab your bag off the belt can be frustrating, so these upgrades will provide passengers with almost twice the space to spread out and collect their bags,” he said.
“This project will reshape Terminal 3 and increase our baggage capacity while also creating a ground floor connection to Terminal 4.
“Virgin Australia is now the biggest domestic carrier at Melbourne Airport with millions of passengers passing through Terminal 3 every year so it’s important we build now to cater for future growth.”
Surpassing pre-pandemic capacity
Paul Jones, Chief Customer and Digital Officer at Virgin Australia, said the expansion would be in line with VA passenger growth at the Victorian hub.
“Virgin Australia’s domestic capacity at Melbourne Airport is higher than it was last year and pre-COVID,” he said.
“We want our guests to have a wonderful experience when they fly with us, so we are investing in the areas that matter most, from the ground to the air.
“That also includes launching Australia’s first-ever airline baggage tracking tool, rolling out Rapid Rebook technology to improve the experience in the event of disruption, investing in new latest-generation aircraft, and embarking on a $110 million cabin refurbishment of our existing 737 fleet.”
This week, Virgin Australia is in the black for the first time in more than a decade, reporting a net profit after tax of $129 million for the 2022/23 financial year (FY23).
