Our airport is set for a massive makeover as passenger numbers double in the next 20 years. First cab off the rank is a new drop-off ramp.

Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size If you've ever found it painful getting through Melbourne Airport, imagine if you were travelling alongside almost twice as many passengers as today. That will be the reality in the not-too-distant future with Melbourne tipped to overtake Sydney as Australia's largest city and its population rises from 5 million to more than 7 million over the next 20 years. The population boom will increase the number of people flying and international visitors will grow at an even faster rate as more efficient aeroplanes and airline competition makes airfares cheaper. Melbourne Airport expects passenger numbers, which have already grown 60 per cent over the past decade, to balloon from 36.5 million a year now to more than 69 million a year by 2038. Meanwhile, aircraft movements (take-offs and landings) are expected to grow from about 670 every day to more than a thousand. (That's 244,476 movements a year versus 384,000.) The airport says it already has regular delays because it can't move aircraft fast enough on its two runways.


It expects to hit maximum capacity next year and, by 2023, expects to be plagued by delays throughout the day if it doesn't build a third runway. The privately owned airport has plans in place to accommodate its growth and, according to it, keep us moving around the world and home again smoothly. So how will the airport have to change? And what may a trip from Tullamarine look like in a couple of decades? Gallery: Click right to see how the airport will change The notorious drop-off ramp One of the biggest pain points today for passengers is the last few hundred metres of their journey up the notoriously congested drop-off ramp.


The airport has started directing traffic into different zones in pick-up and drop-off areas depending on the time of day to ease congestion. But for a long-term fix, it plans to move private vehicle drop-offs and pick-ups to levels two and three of the multi-storey car park opposite the main terminal. The new drop-off area will be connected by elevated link roads off the T4 entry ramp, from a new dedicated freeway exit and then feeding directly back onto the Tullamarine Freeway via Melbourne Drive – allowing the public to drop-off of collect loved ones without encountering an intersection. Car trips to the airport on busy days will almost double to 240,000 per day in 20 years. That will also allow the terminal to expand forward into part of what is currently the forecourt pick-up zone. In the long term, the airport plans to move taxis and other commercial vehicles onto the multi-storey carpark too. From the carpark, passengers will walk to the terminals via elevated pedestrian bridges.


Car trips to the airport on busy days will almost double to 240,000 per day in 20 years if there's no investment in public transport or other new ways to get out to Tullamarine, the airport says. This appears to be finally happening. An overview of the new-look airport with its streamlined drop-off ramp. Credit:Melbourne Airport A rail link, at last?

After being on the drawing board for 60 years, the long-awaited $11 billion airport rail link seems to be gaining speed. The state government wants the link to be completed by 2031. The train’s exact route hasn’t been decided but the government has indicated it would travel through a “super hub” at Sunshine Station. The airport has put aside space for a rail link into the terminals, between T3 and T4, and is part of a private consortium including Metro Trains and IFM Investors that wants to build the link.


The group says it can start building next year and has offered $5 billion for the project, matching pledges of $5 billion each from state and federal coffers. And, hedging its bets, the airport says its train station could also be the base for a high-speed rail station in the future. An artist's impression of the airport rail link station. Credit:Melbourne Airport Inside the terminals Melbourne is looking to keep pace with global trends and that includes installing new self check-in and bag-drop facilities across all terminals, self-service outbound immigration checkpoints and more departure lounges and retail and dining options. With international traffic growing the fastest, Melbourne's T2 will get a major overhaul over the next five years. Video: take a tour of the new-look international terminal Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video

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