Melbourne Airport (Tullamarine)

Melbourne

Melbourne Airport, also known as Tullamarine Airport, is the primary airport serving the city of Melbourne, and the second busiest airport in Australia. It was opened in 1970 to replace the nearby Essendon Airport. Melbourne Airport is the sole international airport of the four airports serving the Melbourne metropolitan area.

Operations

Melbourne is the second busiest airport in Australia. The airport is curfew-free and operates 24 hours a day, although between 2 am and 4 am, freight aircraft are more prevalent than passenger flights. Construction works were undertaken to prepare the airport for the arrival of the double-decker Airbus A380. The A380 has been purchased by several airlines using the airport, namely Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Thai Airways, China Southern Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Etihad Airways and Emirates. The improvements included the construction of dual airbridges (Gates 9 and 11) with the ability to board both decks simultaneously to reduce turnaround times, the widening of the North-South runway and remote stands and taxiways by 15 m (49 ft), the extension of the international terminal building by 20 m (66 ft) to include new penthouse airline lounges, and the construction of an additional baggage carousel in the arrivals hall. As a result, the airport was the first in Australia to be capable of handling the A380.[76] The A380 made its first test flight into the airport on 14 November 2005. On 15 May 2008 the A380 made its first passenger flight into the airport when a Singapore Airlines Sydney-bound flight was diverted from Sydney Airport because of fog.

Beginning services in October 2008, Qantas was the first airline to operate the A380 from the airport, flying nonstop to Los Angeles International Airport twice a week. This was the inaugural route for the Qantas A380.

Runways

Melbourne Airport has two intersecting runways: one 3,657 m (11,998 ft) north–south and one 2,286 m (7,500 ft) east–west. Due to increasing traffic, several runway expansions are planned, including an 843 m (2,766 ft) extension of the north-south runway to lengthen it to 4,500 m (14,764 ft), and a 1,214 m (3,983 ft) extension of the east–west runway to a total of 3,500 m (11,483 ft).[80] Two new runways are also planned: a 3,000 m (9,843 ft) runway parallel to the current north–south runway[80] and a 3,000 m (9,843 ft) runway south of the current east–west runway.[80] The 3rd runway is expected to cost $500 million and will be open by 2020.[81] Traffic movement is expected to reach 248,000 per annum by 2017, necessitating a third runway.

On 5 June 2008, it was announced that the airport would install a Category III landing system, allowing planes to land in low visibility conditions, such as fog. This system will be the first of its kind in Australia,[83] and was commissioned March 2010 at a cost of $10 million.

Other facilities

Melbourne Airport is served by four hotels. A Parkroyal Hotel is located 100 m (330 ft) from Terminal 2 atop the multi-level carpark. Work commenced on the six-story 280-room hotel in January 1999, which was completed in mid-2000.[33] The hotel was originally a Hilton but was relaunched as the Parkroyal on 4 April 2011.[72] Holiday Inn has an outlet located 400 m (1,300 ft) from the terminal precinct. Ibis Budget offers lodgings located 600 m (2,000 ft) from the terminals. Mantra Tullamarine opened in 2009, 2 km (1.2 mi) from the terminal precinct.

Terminals

Melbourne Airport's terminals have 56 gates: 40 domestic and 16 international. There are five dedicated freighter parking positions on the Southern Freighter Apron. The current terminal numbering system was introduced in July 2005; they were previously known as Qantas Domestic, International, and South (formerly Ansett Domestic).

Terminal 1: hosts domestic and regional services for Qantas Group airlines, Qantas and QantasLink (which is located to the northern end of the building). Departures are located on the first floor, while arrivals are located on the ground floor. The terminal has 16 parking bays served by aerobridges; 12 are served by single aerobridges whilst four are served by double aerobridges. There are another five non-aerobridge gates, which are used by QantasLink.

Opened with Melbourne Airport in 1970 for Trans Australia Airlines, the terminal passed to Qantas in 1992 when they acquired the airline. Work on improving the original terminal commenced in October 1997 and was completed in late 1999 at a cost of $50 million, featuring a second pier, stands for 9 additional aircraft, an extended access roadway and the expansion of the terminal.

Today, a wide range of shops and food outlets are situated at the end of the terminal near the entrance into Terminal 2. Qantas has a Qantas Club, Business Class and a chairman's lounge in the terminal.

Terminal 2: handles all international, and limited domestic, flights out of Melbourne Airport, and was opened in 1970. The terminal has 20 gates with aerobridges. Cathay Pacific, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas (which includes two lounges in Terminal 2, a First lounge and a Business lounge/Qantas Club), Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand, United Airlines and Emirates Airline all operate airline lounges in the terminal.

The international terminal contains works by noted Australian Indigenous artists including Daisy Jugadai Napaltjarri and Gloria Petyarre.

A$330 million expansion programme for Terminal 2 was announced in 2007 and was completed in 2012. The objectives of this project include new lounges and retail facilities, a new satellite terminal, increased luggage capacity and a redesign of customs and security areas. A new satellite terminal features floor-to-ceiling windows offers views of the North-South runway. The new concourse includes three double-decker aerobridges which are gates 16, 18 and 20, each accommodating an A380 aircraft or two smaller aircraft and one single aerobridge. The baggage handling capacity will be increased, and two new baggage carousels will cater to increased A380 traffic. Work commenced in November 2007 and will be completed in 2011 but was opened in 2012.

Although described as a satellite terminal, the terminal building is connected by an above-ground corridor to Terminal 2. Departures take place on the lower deck (similar to the A380 boarding lounges currently in use at Gates 9 and 11), with arrivals streamed on to the first floor to connect with the current first floor arrivals deck. All gates including 18 and 20 are now handling passengers.

Terminal 3: Opened with the airport as the Ansett Australia terminal, but is now owned by Melbourne Airport. Terminal 3 is home to Virgin Australia and Virgin Australia Regional Airlines. It currently has eleven parking bays served by single aerobridges and eight parking bays not equipped with aerobridges.

An expansion of the terminal was approved in 1989 and completed in 1991 when a second pier was added by Ansett to the south for use by smaller regional airline Kendell. The terminal was used exclusively by the Ansett Group for all its domestic activities until its collapse in 2001. It was intended to be used by the "New" Ansett, under ownership of Tesna – however, following the Tesna group's withdrawal of the purchase of Ansett in 2002, the terminal was sold back to Melbourne Airport by Ansett's administrators. As a result, Melbourne Airport undertook a major renovation and facelift of the terminal, following which Virgin Australia (then Virgin Blue) moved in from what was then called Domestic Express (now Terminal 4), and has since began operating The Lounge in the terminal, using the former Ansett Australia Golden Wing Lounge area. Regional Express also operates an airline lounge in the terminal.

Terminal 4: Originally called the Domestic Express or South Terminal – is dedicated to budget airlines and is the first facility of its kind at a conventional airport in Australia. It was originally constructed for Virgin Blue (Virgin Australia) and Impulse Airlines. Virgin Blue eventually moved into Terminal 3 following the demise of Ansett. A$5 million refit began in June 2007 along the lines of the budget terminal model at Singapore Changi Airport and Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Lower landing and airport handling fees are charged to airlines due to the basic facilities, lack of jet bridges, and fewer amenities and retail outlets compared to a conventional terminal. However, the terminal is located next to the main terminal building, unlike in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. The terminal was rebuilt by Tiger Airways Australia, which has used it as its main hub since it operated its first domestic flight on 23 November 2007.

Jetstar Airways confirmed its involvement in discussions with Melbourne Airport regarding the expansion of terminal facilities to accommodate for the growth of domestic low-cost services. The expansion of Terminal 4 includes infrastructure to accommodate Tiger Airways Australia and Jetstar Airways flights. The development cost hundreds of millions of dollars. In March 2012 it was announced that in October the same year T4 is to break ground, an expected completion of July 2014 was released, but was pushed back to late August 2015 and opened on 18 August 2015. The T4 terminal is 35,000 m2 (380,000 sq ft) and linked "under one roof" with T3. Terminal 4 is currently used by Tigerair Australia, Regional Express Airlines, Jetstar and Airnorth.

Terminal 5: This Terminal was built in 2040, and will not be completed until 2045. At current it handles 10 Gravsled landings and departures a day, the most of any Airport other than Sydney. The expansion will cost nearly a billion dollars. The new T5 terminal is 65,000 m2 (699654 sq ft) and linked "under one roof" with T4.

History

Before the opening of Melbourne Airport, Melbourne's main airport was Essendon Airport which was officially designated an international airport in 1950. In the mid-1950s, over 10,000 passengers were using Essendon Airport and the limitations of Essendon Airport were beginning to become apparent. Essendon Airport's facilities were insufficient to meet the increasing demand for air travel; the runways were too short to handle the then new jet airliners and the terminals failed to handle the increase in passengers, by the mid-1950s, an international overflow terminal was built in a new northern hangar. Due to the encroachment of the urban boundary, the airport had become surrounded by residential housing, meaning that expansion of Essendon Airport was not possible.

The search for a replacement for Essendon commenced in February 1958, when a panel was appointed to assess Melbourne's civil aviation needs.

In 1959 the Commonwealth Government acquired 5,300 ha (13,000 acres) of grassland in then-rural Tullamarine.

In May 1959 it was announced that a new airport would be built at Tullamarine, with Prime Minister Robert Menzies announcing on 27 November 1962 a five-year plan to provide Melbourne with a A$45 million "jetport" by 1967. The first sod at Tullamarine was turned two years later in November 1964. In line with the five-year plan, the runways at Essendon were expanded to handle larger aircraft, with Ansett Australia launching the Boeing 727 there in October 1964, the first jet aircraft used for domestic air travel in Australia.

On 1 July 1970, Melbourne Airport was opened to international operations by Prime Minister John Gorton, ending Essendon's near 2-decade run as Melbourne's international airport. Essendon still was home to domestic flights for one year, until they were transferred to Melbourne Airport on 26 June 1971,[21] with the first arrival of a Boeing 747 occurring later that year. In the first year of operations, Melbourne handled six international airlines and 155,275 international passengers.

Melbourne Airport was originally called 'Melbourne International Airport'. It is at Tullamarine, a name derived from the indigenous name Tullamareena. Locally, the airport is commonly referred to as Tullamarine or simply as Tulla to distinguish the airport from the other three Melbourne airports: Avalon, Essendon and Moorabbin.

On opening, Melbourne Airport consisted of three connected terminals: International in the centre, with Ansett to the South and Trans Australia Airlines to the North. The design capacity of the airport was eight Boeing 707s at a rate of 500 passengers per hour, with minor expansion works completed in 1973 allowing Boeing 747s to serve the airport. By the late 1980s peak passenger flows at the airport had reached 900 per hour, causing major congestion.

In late 1989, Federal Airports Corporation Inspector A. Rohead was put in charge of a bicentennial project to rename streets in Melbourne Airport to honour the original inhabitants, European pioneers and aviation history. Information on the first two categories was provided by Ian Hunter, Wurundjeri researcher, and Ray Gibb, local historian. The project was completed but was shelved, with the only suggested name, Gowrie Park Drive, being allocated, named after the farm at the heart of the airport. During the 1920s, the farm had been used as a landing site for aircraft, which were parked at night during World War II in case Essendon Aerodrome was bombed