Melbourne Airport Completes $85 Million International Arrivals Hall Refurbishment
Melbourne Airport has completed an $85 million refurbishment of its International Arrivals Hall. The upgrade has created a more spacious and inviting environment ready to welcome more New Zealanders and future international guests.
The Hall includes more seating for those waiting for their loved ones, a larger dwelling area, an improved undercover taxi-wait zone plus repositioned retail outlets.
The largest international terminal investment made by Melbourne Airport in the past five years, the project included the installation of a contemporary indoor façade spanning 420m2 – the same size as the wing area of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
Melbourne Airport Chief of Infrastructure Simon Gandy said the modernised arrivals space was sure to impress overseas visitors when they return.
“The multi-million-dollar upgrade is spectacular and we’re confident it will leave a great first impression on our international guests, especially all the Kiwis that are about to touch down in Melbourne. The upgraded Arrivals Hall also makes it easier for people to connect with onward domestic flights, providing short connection times for passengers that need to walk between terminals.”
In addition to the International Arrivals Hall, Melbourne Airport completed 64 construction projects from March 2020 to now. The projects have added new infrastructure and amenities to the airport to support the overall passenger experience while also improving sustainability.
“Despite COVID-19’s huge impact on travel, we had to remain open, so we focused our resources on a select group of projects that would future-proof our operation. We took the opportunity of continuing some of the more intrusive construction works while the airport was quiet, to be ready to welcome our airline customers and guests as they return.
“Having paused a number of our larger capacity projects, and with a significantly reduced capital program, we focused our resources on the projects that were essential to maintain safe and secure operations, to enhance the traveller experience and also those commercial projects that are assisting our property customers to rebound strongly from COVID. Our reduced spend of $450M over this COVID period provides a solid foundation on which to recover our business, and we will continue to manage with a clear focus on ensuring our prioritisation and pace of investment continues in concert with returning demand.”
This article was originally published by Melbourne Airport.
