Virgin Australia will today resume its Qatar Airways-operated long-haul services from Melbourne Airport, marking a return to double-daily flights to Doha as seat capacity between Melbourne and the Middle East progressively returns.
The daily VA7 and VA8 services between Melbourne and Doha were suspended in February following the outbreak of war, along with Qatar Airways’ own schedule, Emirates flights to Dubai and Etihad services to Abu Dhabi.
With safe air corridors in the region now re-established, airlines are progressively restoring services into the key global hubs, easing disruption ahead of the European summer travel peak.
The resumption of Virgin Australia’s code-share service will supplement Qatar Airways’ daily Doha service, while Emirates plans to restore its schedule between Melbourne Airport and Dubai from twice daily to triple daily from August.
The ongoing conflict was reflected in the number of travellers using the airport in May, with capacity reductions, airline fuel price surcharges and household budget pressures all impacting demand.
Across the month, a total of 2,752,755 people travelled through Melbourne Airport, down three per cent year-on-year, with 726 fewer passenger flights operated than in May 2025.
Melbourne Airport CEO Lorie Argus said the return of stable schedules and aircraft capacity to the Middle Eastern hubs was good news for both travellers and Victorian exporters.
“Doha, Dubai and Abu Dhabi are some of the most important aviation hubs in the world, so we’ve been working closely with the airlines to bring capacity back online as soon as possible,” she said.
“Victoria relies on these services to connect our people and products with markets in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, so it’s encouraging to see more aircraft returning to these routes.
“Domestic carriers have also trimmed their schedules as a result of increased fuel prices and we look forward to working with them to restore capacity into Melbourne as soon as possible.
“While the ongoing global uncertainty is having a short-term impact on traveller volumes, we know we need to invest in the future and build for the long term.
“The first phase of our international terminal expansion project will open later this year with a state-of-the art new baggage system and new Pick up and Drop off locations for Terminals 1, 2 and 3, which will allow us to start pushing the terminal footprint out into the current forecourt and across the existing departures ramp.”
Passenger figures for May 2026:
| Passengers | May 2026 | May 2025 | Growth (%)* |
| International | 858,959 | 904,605 | -5.0% |
| Domestic | 1,893,796 | 1,932,747 | -2.0% |
| Total (excl. transits) | 2,752,755 | 2,837,352 | -3.0% |
*Monthly percentage growth compared to May 2025
Passenger figures for Financial Year to May
| Passengers | Financial Year 2025/26 | Financial Year 2024/25 | Growth (%)* |
| International | 11,345,139 | 11,018,989 | +3.0% |
| Domestic | 22,875,755 | 22,335,855 | +2.4% |
| Total (excl. transits) | 34,220,894 | 33,354,874 | +2.6% |
*percentage growth compared to FY 2024/25