Melbourne Airport

Melbourne Airport, officially Tullamarine, is Australia's second-busiest airport and the primary southern gateway of the nation — ranked by BigAirports among the top-three airports in Oceania alongside Sydney and Auckland. Located 23 km northwest of central Melbourne at 434 ft (132 m) elevation, MEL handles roughly 37M passengers annually and is the only major Australian airport with 24-hour curfew-free operations, a structural advantage that has attracted significant overnight freight and long-haul passenger traffic from Sydney-Kingsford Smith (which operates under an 11pm–6am curfew). Two runways — 16/34 at 11,998 ft (3,657 m) and crosswind 09/27 at 7,500 ft (2,286 m) — currently serve the operation, with a third parallel 16/34 runway under construction that will add independent parallel capacity. Four interconnected terminals share a single unified landside complex: T1 (Qantas domestic), T2 (international, all carriers), T3 (Virgin Australia domestic) and T4 (Jetstar, Bonza, Rex low-cost). The Melbourne Airport Rail Link project will add a dedicated heavy-rail connection to the CBD later this decade. MEL's 147 routes to 70 destinations across 43 airlines reflect its strong long-haul international presence: Qantas, Virgin Australia, Jetstar, Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Qatar, Etihad, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, ANA, Korean Air, China Southern, China Eastern, Vietnam Airlines, Thai, Air New Zealand, United, American, Delta, Air Canada, Air India and LATAM (via Auckland) all operate scheduled service. Ultra-long-haul non-stops include Dallas-Fort Worth (Qantas), Los Angeles, San Francisco, Doha and Dubai. MEL is also Australia's largest dedicated freight airport by weight and hosts major maintenance operations. Its combination of curfew-free operations, dual-runway layout and 24/7 freight capability gives it structural competitive advantages within the Australian airport system.