Travelling through Melbourne | COVID-19

From 9pm on Friday 20 March 2020, only Australian citizens, residents and immediate family members can travel to Australia.

All travellers arriving in Australia must undertake a mandatory 14-day quarantine at designated facilities (for example, a hotel), in their port of arrival.

If you arrive in Australia as a non-exempt traveller, your visa may be cancelled and you will either be returned to your home country when flights are available or placed in an alternative place of detention for a quarantine period.

These arrangements are under constant review as the COVID-19 situation evolves, and will be revised based on updated health advice.
For more information visit, www.homeaffairs.gov.au or speak to your airline directly.
 

From 12:00pm 25 March 2020 all Australian citizens and permanent residents will be prohibited for travel out of Australia unless exempted.

The following travellers are exempt from the 'outbound' travel restrictions:

• Persons ordinarily resident in a country other than Australia.
• Persons whose travel is associated with essential work at offshore facilities.
• Persons engaged in the day to day conduct of outbound and inbound freight.
• Persons travelling on official Government business and members of the Australian Defence Force (ADF)
• Airline and maritime crew and associated safety workers.

They do not change their gloves, however they sanitise their hands after they search every traveller.

If you are a New Zealander, citizen of a Pacific Island Forum country, Timor Leste citizen or resident of New Caledonia or French Polynesia transiting though Australia on your way to or from New Zealand or a Pacific Island Forum Country, you do not need a transit exemption if you have booked a connecting flight to depart Australia within 72 hours of your arriving flight.

All other passengers will need to seek an exemption to be allowed to transit through Australia. You can apply online for an exemption.

The most up-to-date transit information can be found here.

See our COVID-19 parking updates page for more information here.

All passengers arriving in Australia will be subject to the Australian Government’s mandatory quarantine period of 14 days at their first Australian destination. Travellers will be provided with suitable accommodation to stay in during this period and will not be permitted to travel domestically (including to their home residence) or continue on any domestic connections until the 14 day mandatory quarantine period has been completed.

Travellers will be met once they arrive at Melbourne Airport by appropriate Government authorities and taken to their accommodation.
 

Health experts recommend hand washing with soap and running water for 20 seconds as being a better form of hand hygiene than using alcohol based sanitisers. We’re encouraging more hand washing by people passing through the terminals by cleaning bathrooms more often and ensuring supplies of soap remain stocked up. We’ve installed hand sanitiser as an extra option to support the way people migrate through our terminals, but we urge everyone to make soap and water their first option – just like it is for the experts who recommend it.
 

We’ve changed the way we clean to increase how often our cleaners disinfect contact surfaces such as elevator buttons, escalator rails and counter tops. We’ve increased cleaning frequency, with more focus on making sure bathrooms are cleaned every two hours. We’ve also installed hand sanitiser inside all of our amenities, and throughout the precinct we’re promoting hygiene practices in line with government advice.
 

All passengers arriving in Australia will be subject to the Australian Government’s mandatory quarantine period of 14 days at their first Australian destination. Travellers will be provided with suitable accommodation to stay in during this period and will not be permitted to travel domestically (including to their home residence) or continue on any domestic connections until the 14 day mandatory quarantine period has been completed.
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Travellers will be met once they arrive at Melbourne Airport by appropriate Government authorities and taken to their accommodation.
 

No, there are restrictions around the amount of liquids, aerosols and gels (LAGS) that can be taken through security screening. LAGS may only be taken in your carry-on luggage if they are in containers no more than 100mL in size.
 

Yes transport operators are still available at Melbourne Airport 24/7, but you are only able to use these services if you arrive from a domestic destination. You may find some operators running reduced services due to current travel restrictions affecting demand for airport transport. If possible, we recommend checking ahead before you fly.

If you arrive from an international destination, you will be provided transportation to your appropriate accommodation for the mandatory quarantine period.

We’re maintaining a focus on streamlining the arrivals experience for international travellers as much as we can. While there are some additional procedures in place at this time that can add a few minutes to your journey, for the most part the significantly reduced number of passengers passing through the airport means the delays aren’t especially noticeable.

The travel ban applies to foreign nationals departing from countries (China, Iran, South Korea, Italy) under the ban imposed by the Government.  Australian citizens and permanent residents from these countries are still able to enter.
All passengers on these flights are subject to a health check on arrival and are then required to self-isolate at home for 14 days from the day they departed.  The health check involves a temperature check being undertaken by the Victorian Department of Health & Human Services.
It’s worth keeping in mind that there remains some demand for travel from Melbourne to China, so many of the flights to and from mainland China are more heavily loaded departing Melbourne than arriving. However, a great deal of air freight is carried on passenger aircraft, so we also welcome these Chinese flights that help to maintain trade links between our countries – something that’s especially important for Victoria’s primary producers exporting into China.
As per Government advice, Australia will deny entry to anyone who has left or transited a country subject to travel restrictions within the previous 14 days, with the exception of:

• Australian citizens
• permanent residents
• New Zealand citizens resident in Australia
• immediate family members of Australian citizens and permanent residents including spouses, minor dependants and legal guardians
• diplomats.

There are closures across our terminals of our cafes and restaurants. Our most up-to-date open hospitality establishment and reduced hours can be found on our website.