Melbourne Airport Is Upgrading, but the Drive to Your Car Park Stays the Same

Heard about the upgrades happening at Melbourne Airport and wondering whether they affect where you park? They don’t. You take Exit 18 off the Tullamarine Freeway to get to the Value Car Parks, Exit 19 for the T4 Car Parks, and Exit 20 for the T123 Car Parks, then follow the airport signage in. That’s the drive, whether you’re flying next week or next year.

Plenty is being built across the airport precinct, and the new Pick Up and Drop Off zones are the biggest part of it. But dropping off or collecting someone and leaving your car to catch a flight have always been separate things, on separate roads. So whether you’ve parked onsite 50 times or you’re sorting out your first trip, you can book online today and drive straight in.

A few things are changing around the T123 Car Park. There’s the new bookable T123 Accessible Car Park, and the Pick Up and Drop Off zones moving into the new T123 Transport Hub, a purpose-built drop-off and collection facility, reached via Naarm Way off Exit 19. Neither one changes how you park onsite.

• The new T123 Accessible Car Park – Located on Level 2 of the T123 Car Park, it’s the only Accessible Parking at Melbourne Airport you can book ahead. You’ll find it close to the Virgin Australia bridge to Terminal 3, the new bridge to Terminal 2 and the Qantas bridge to Terminal 1. For special assistance, our Melbourne Airport Assist team can give you a hand between the car park and the terminals for free.
• The new Pick Up and Drop Off zones – Both Pick Up and Drop Off for Terminals 1, 2 and 3 are moving from the kerb and into the new T123 Transport Hub. Dropping someone off is on Level 3, and picking someone up is on Level 2.

Planning your drive to the airport? Use our Trip Planner tool to map your drive, pull up Google Maps for live traffic, and take a quick look at road delays and disruptions around Tullamarine before you leave. If you arrived early or are waiting for your passenger, park at the free Wait Zone on Mercer Drive for up to 60 minutes at no cost.

To get to the T123 Car Parks, take Exit 20 off the Tullamarine Freeway, then follow the airport signage in. That’s the way in for the T123 Terminal Car Park, the T123 Premium Car Park, the bookable T123 Accessible Car Park and both valet services.

For self-parking, which one you want comes down to how far you’d like to walk with your bags.

• The T123 Terminal Car Park sits directly opposite Terminals 1, 2 and 3, connected via a covered link bridge. You’ll walk under cover the whole way to check-in, whether that’s Qantas domestic at Terminal 1, an international flight from Terminal 2 or Virgin Australia domestic at Terminal 3. There’s a mix of open-air and undercover bays here.
• The T123 Premium Car Park puts you in undercover bays closest to the terminal entrances. You park, take your bags out of the boot, and you walk in. It’s the shortest self-park walk for those headed toward Terminals 1, 2 and 3.

If you book parking online, your confirmation email contains a QR code that works as your key both ways. Scan it at the boom gate going in and scan it again coming out. Use the QR code rather than a card, as tapping a card means you get charged drive-up rates.

No. The upgrades cover Pick Up and Drop Off for Terminals 1, 2, and 3 and the new Accessible Car Park. Neither of those is a Terminal 4 facility, so the T4 Car Parks and T4 Pick Up and Drop Off stay exactly as they are.

Take Exit 19, come in via Naarm Way, and follow the airport signage to the T4 Car Parks. From either one, it’s roughly 100 metres to the Terminal 4 doors.

• The T4 Terminal Car Park suits you if you’re flying Jetstar, Rex, Link Airways or one of the Virgin Australia flights operating from Terminal 4. It offers a mix of open-air and undercover bays.
• The T4 Premium Car Park holds the undercover bays nearest the terminal entry point, so it’s the shorter of the two walks.

None. Both Value Car Parks keep their locations and their bus routes. The free bus service will continue to run every 15 minutes, 24 hours a day. To get to the Value Car Parks, take Exit 18 and come in off Mercer Drive.

• The Value North Car Park has two entrances, one on Mercer Drive and another on Airport Drive. The free bus service stops at Terminal 1, with Terminal 2 a short walk away, and at Terminal 4, with Terminal 3 a short walk from there.
• The Value South Car Park has entrances on Airport Drive and Francis Briggs Road, with one pick-up point at Bus Shelter J and a free bus straight through to the T4 Transport Hub. Terminal 4 check-in is about 200 metres from there, with Terminal 3 a short walk across.

When you land, you catch the same bus back from the same stop, and it returns you to the car park you booked. Hopped on the wrong one? Stay aboard and ride it through to where it stops, and the correct bus is a short walk from that drop-off.

Both valet options sit inside the T123 Car Park, reached off Exit 20, and both run exactly as they do now. With Melbourne Airport Valet, you pull up, hand the keys to our valet service team and walk straight to check-in. We park the car while you’re away and have it ready for you when you return. You can even add an optional car cleaning service to your booking.

Qantas Valet sits closest to the Terminal 1 entrance, which makes it the fastest handover if you’re flying Qantas domestic. It’s open to everyone rather than Qantas travellers only, and optional car cleaning is also available here.

Booking early gets you the better pick of car parks and locks in the parking rate at the time of booking. Melbourne Airport parking fills up fast over school holidays and long weekends, so sorting it early, up to 12 months ahead, is always the smarter move.

Booking ahead also gives you room to move if your plans change:

• You can cancel or manage bookings free of charge up to 2 hours before your arrival time on the My Bookings page. If you’re already parked and need to park longer, you can also extend your stay there.
• Your online booking comes with a built-in buffer. That’s a 2-hour grace period for bookings over 4 hours and 1 hour for those under. This applies both before your entry and after your exit, so arriving a little early or leaving a little late is covered.
• For the what-ifs beyond your control, the optional Overstay Guarantee covers overstay charges if a cancelled flight, a border closure or illness keeps you from getting home on time.

Travelling with accessibility needs? Beyond the bookable T123 Accessible Car Park, every onsite car park has Accessible Parking bays close to terminal entrances, lifts and bus stops. Our Online Mobility Hub has journey maps and facility guides worth a look before you fly.

If you need a hand on the day, just press one of the HELP buttons at the entry and exit gates or the Value Car Park bus shelters, and our customer service team can talk you through it.

If you’ve been holding off on booking until you know what the upgrades mean for parking, you can go ahead. The T123 Transport Hub and the T123 Accessible Car Park don’t change how you get to the car parks. You’ll come off the freeway, follow the signs and park, and it’s a straightforward run whether you’re a regular or you’ve never parked onsite before.

Once your flights are sorted, book Melbourne Airport parking online while you’re at it. The earlier you do, the better your pick. If you’d like to picture where everything sits first, our airport maps show every car park, exit and terminal together. For offers and the latest around the precinct, subscribe to our Parking Deals newsletter and follow Melbourne Airport on social media.