A record number of international arrivals has underpinned the busiest month on record for Melbourne Airport’s international terminal, with people making the most of additional capacity and travellers flocking to Melbourne for the Australian Open.
688,534 international arrivals were among the 1,261,361 travellers welcomed through Australia’s largest 24-hour international gateway in January, alongside 2,115,518 domestic passengers.
The overall total of 3,376,879 made January the airport’s third busiest month on record, just behind December and January 2025.
Friday 9th January was the busiest day ever recorded in the international terminal, with 45,106 people welcomed through the doors.
Across January, Melbourne Airport welcomed more than 59,000 Chinese passport holders, 57,000 New Zealand passport holders, 29,000 Indian passport holders, 23,000 United Kingdom passport holders and 18,000 passport holders from the United States.
A further 29,000 United Kingdom passport holders flew out of Melbourne, following Australia’s victory in the Ashes series.
Melbourne Airport CEO Lorie Argus said January’s numbers highlighted the value of Melbourne’s major events in bringing international visitors to the state’s hotels, restaurants and sporting venues.
“Melbourne Airport supports one in every 16 Victorian jobs, and each average daily international flight is worth $190 million a year to the state economy,” she said.
“We’re proud to be Australia’s largest 24-hour airport, and we’re investing in significant new infrastructure, including a third runway, to cater for growing demand for international travel and the benefits that brings to Victoria.
“Our new $500 million international baggage system is in its final stages of commissioning and when it opens it will more than double the capacity of our existing outbound system, while also paving the way for passenger experience enhancements such as anytime check-in.
“Later in the year we will open new and expanded Pick Up and Drop Off zones for passengers using Terminals 1, 2 and 3, which will allow us to start upgrading the international terminal by expanding its footprint into the current arrivals forecourt.
“Major construction work for this project is currently underway, and we’d encourage anyone heading to the airport in February or March to plan ahead, allow an extra half an hour and use the Terminal 4 Pick Up and Drop Off zones where possible.
“Tomorrow night the Tullamarine Freeway will be closed in both directions between Mickleham Road and Sunbury Road from 10pm to 5am.
“This is to allow for the installation of new overhead gantries so we’d ask anyone travelling to the airport tomorrow night to give themselves plenty of extra time.”
Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Steve Dimopoulos heralded the new international record as a win for Victoria.
“Visitors love coming to Victoria for our world class sport, culture and events,” he said.
“When our international and domestic terminals thrive, so do Victorian businesses.
“It’s about keeping hotels, restaurants and family businesses busy, which drives our $46 billion visitor economy and supports 288,000 Victorian jobs.”
Passenger figures for January 2026:
| Passengers | January 2026 | January 2025 | Growth (%)* |
| International | 1,261,361 | 1,238,829 | +1.8% |
| Domestic | 2,115,518 | 2,155,148 | -1.8% |
| Total (excl. transits) | 3,376,879 | 3,393,977 | -0.5% |
*Monthly percentage growth compared to January 2025
Passenger figures for Financial Year to January
| Passengers | Financial Year 2025/26 | Financial Year 2024/25 | Growth (%)* |
| International | 7,533,319 | 7,219,946 | +4.3% |
| Domestic | 14,971,984 | 14,511,994 | +3.2% |
| Total (excl. transits) | 22,505,303 | 21,731,940 | +3.6% |
*Percentage growth compared to FY 2024/25