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Melbourne Airport has set out its next big growth story. The draft Master Plan 2027 maps a 20-year program for Australia’s largest 24-hour gateway as passenger numbers head towards 75 million a year by 2047.

That is roughly double the airport’s recent annual traffic. In other words, Melbourne is planning for a future in which the arrivals hall gets considerably busier.

Work has already started. New and expanded pick-up and drop-off zones are due to open in October. They will help make room for $4.5 billion in privately funded projects to expand the international terminal.

The draft plan also proposes upgrades to the domestic terminals and protects space for the long-term needs of Australian domestic airlines.

Runways move firmly onto the agenda

The airfield is another major part of the plan.

Melbourne Airport Aerial T2

Melbourne Airport wants to formalise the Eastern Extension Project. It would add 345 metres to the existing east-west runway. The extension would offset shortening at the western end required for construction of the airport’s third runway.

For travellers, however, some of the most obvious changes could happen long before anyone reaches the check-in counter.

The plan includes new roadworks, stronger bus links to nearby communities, and future rail access to the city via Sunshine.

That rail connection is no longer simply a line on Melbourne’s famously long transport wish list. Stage 1 works are underway, including substantial works around Sunshine Station to prepare for the Melbourne Airport Rail connection. Australian Government information confirms construction has begun on the first stage, including six kilometres of new track and two new rail bridges.

Melbourne Airport prepares for passenger surge

Melbourne Airport CEO Lorie Argus said the airport must prepare now for the demand ahead.

“Last financial year Melbourne Airport welcomed almost 37 million passengers, but that number is expected to double over the next two decades,” she said.

Melbourne Airport T2 Expansion

The plan is not only about aircraft, terminals and baggage belts.

Local access is a central theme. Melbourne Airport says the precinct is already Victoria’s largest employment hub outside the Melbourne CBD. Further business park development is intended to create more employment opportunities for communities across Melbourne’s north and west.

Sustainability also runs through the proposal. The airport says future planning and operations will incorporate low-carbon design, resource efficiency and climate resilience as the precinct expands.

Bigger airport, bigger tourism opportunity

For airlines, tourism operators and the wider travel trade, the message is clear: Melbourne Airport is preparing for a substantially larger role in Victoria’s visitor economy.

Greater international terminal capacity could accommodate larger passenger flows and future airline growth. Better roads, buses and eventually rail should also make the precinct easier to reach for travellers and the thousands of people who work there.

The figures explain the urgency.

An airport serving 75 million passengers every year needs far more than extra boarding gates. Roads, public transport, freight capacity, baggage systems and airfield infrastructure all need to grow together.

Airports, after all, are not famous for greeting sudden crowds with the serenity of a country tea room.

Public invited to have its say

The draft Melbourne Airport Master Plan 2027 is now open for public consultation.

Melbourne Airport says submissions will be accepted until 4 November, giving residents, businesses, industry organisations and travellers an opportunity to comment before the planning process moves to its next stage.

The scale is ambitious, but so is Melbourne’s growth.

This plan is designed to make sure Melbourne Airport is ready before 75 million passengers arrive, preferably without all of them asking where the taxi rank has gone.