Melbourne, 13th July 2026:
As per the latest passenger data shared by Visit Victoria, almost 37 million passengers travelled through Melbourne Airport in the 2026 Financial Year, with the airport marking the busiest 12-month period for international travel since its opening in 1970.
The Annual international passenger numbers through the Australia’s largest 24-hour gateway surpassed 12 million for the first time, with a total of 12,256,328 people welcomed across 57,002 international passenger flights. The 2026 financial year included Melbourne Airport’s busiest month on record, with 3,421,195 people transiting through the four terminals in December 2025.
Across the financial year, the top non-Australian arrivals by passport country of origin were:
– China 636,245 (up 8%)
– New Zealand 517,943 (up 1.3%)
– India 323,308 (down 4.9%)
– United Kingdon 201,261 (up 9.4%)
– United States 142,339 (up 7.9%)
The monthly passenger numbers in June were down slightly on the previous year, with seat capacity to the key Middle East hubs of Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi progressively resuming, but yet to return to pre-conflict levels. While. the domestic traveller numbers were relatively stable in June despite a reduction in airline seat capacity but grew 2.2 per cent across the 12-month period.
Melbourne Airport CEO Lorie Argus said, “the growing passenger volumes highlighted the need for the airport’s privately funded investment in its road network, airfield and terminals along with government investment in a modernised border.” She added, “we’ve committed to a $4.5 billion expansion of our international terminal, a new third runway and an enhanced road network to cater for Melbourne’s growth.”
Lorie Argus further mentioned, “Passengers will start to notice some of these changes in October, when we open our new and much larger, free pick up and drop off zones for Qantas, International and Virgin Australia travellers in the T123 Transport Hub.Given the growing volume of travellers, the international arrivals process is currently one of our biggest passenger pain points, so we’re pleased the Federal Government has committed to fixing this.We’re excited to work with the Federal Government to ensure a seamless rollout of the new digital arrivals process in Melbourne.”
