Driving to Melbourne Airport? Here’s How Pick Up and Drop Off Are Changing

Picking up a mate or dropping someone off? From 6 October, how Pick Up and Drop Off at Melbourne Airport works is changing. As part of our Naarm Way project, you’ll head to the new T123 Transport Hub through a dedicated freeway exit instead of the Departures Drive ramp for Drop Off or the terminal forecourt for Pick Up.

That means knowing which way to go once you’re off the freeway based on which terminal your passenger is actually flying from. Parking the car to fly out yourself? None of this changes how or where you park.

Right now, Pick Up and Drop Off at Melbourne Airport means the same drive as parking the car. You go in via Terminal Drive. That shared route changes once the new zones open on 6 October.

• Picking up or dropping off a passenger? Come off the Tullamarine Freeway earlier, at the exit signed Exit 19 Naarm Way, and head straight into the T123 Transport Hub or the T4 Transport Hub.
• No matter which airline you’re flying with, all Terminals will now use Exit 19 Naarm Way for drop off and pick up
• Parking the car to fly out yourself? Nothing changes. You still follow the same route as you do today.

Two things change at the terminal. The Drop Off ramp on Departures Drive is closing so we can expand the International Terminal. The terminal forecourt then becomes commercial vehicles only for Pick Up, so Skybus, taxis and rideshare keep collecting passengers there. Drop Off will work differently. Every vehicle will use the Level 3 of the T123 Transport Hub for dropping off passengers.

All of this sits inside a wider road network redesign that keeps public and commercial traffic on separate paths. Once you’ve dropped off your passenger, the way out is just as direct. The exit ramps lead onto Departure Drive and Melbourne Drive, straight back onto the Tullamarine Freeway.

Yes, and sometimes, more than the airline does. Melbourne Airport will soon have two separate transport hubs. The terminal your passenger is flying from decides which one you head towards.

• The T123 Transport Hub serves Terminals 1, 2 and 3. That’s Qantas domestic from Terminal 1, all international flights leave from Terminal 2 and Virgin Australia domestic from Terminal 3.
• The T4 Transport Hub serves Terminal 4. That’s where passengers flying Jetstar, Rex and Link Airways go. None of this changes for you.

Virgin Australia also operates some flights out of Terminal 4, so check your passenger’s actual terminal before you reach the fork into the precinct. Head to the wrong hub, and your passenger is looking at a walk back with luggage to get to the right one.

Turn up early and still not know exactly when your passenger will be out? Whether that’s a delayed flight or you just left home sooner than you needed to, don’t circle the precinct. Don’t pull over along the freeway to wait it out, either.

Head to the free Wait Zone on Mercer Drive, just off the Tullamarine Freeway. The first 60 minutes of parking here are free. It’s about a five-minute drive from the new Pick Up zone. Wait there until your passenger is actually ready, then make the short drive over to collect them.

Headed to the T123 Transport Hub? Exit 19 Naarm Way takes you straight in. Dropping off runs to the Level 3 Drop Off, 3 lanes to choose from and 6 rows to park in, and picking up sits at the rear of Level 2.

• If your passenger is flying through the international terminal, a 19-metre-wide pedestrian bridge connects the hub directly to Terminal 2. From there, it's a straight, covered walk in between rather than crossing any roads.
• Headed to the T4 Transport Hub for Jetstar, Rex or Link Airways instead? Nothing about your route changes. You still come in via Exit 19 Naarm Way. Pick Up stays on Level 1 and Drop Off stays on Level 2, exactly as it's been since 2023.
• If you're a taxi, Uber or another rideshare, Drop Off and Pick Up split to two different places. Drop Off runs into the hub like any private car, but Pick Up stays down at the ground-level airport forecourt, alongside Skybus.

Need a hand getting between the car and the terminal? Melbourne Airport Assist, run with Travellers Aid, operates seven days a week from 6 AM to 10 PM. Once the T123 Transport Hub opens on 6 October, that moves to 22 hours a day (from 3am to 1am). The team gets you between the car parks, the terminals, the baggage halls and the Pick Up and Drop Off zones, plus buggy transfers at Terminal 4.

Book Melbourne Airport Assist at least 24 hours ahead, call the team on 0492 868 960, or ask the team at one of our mobility hubs around the airport. If you need a hand outside operating hours, a separate After-Hours Help service is available, though that one always needs 24 hours’ notice.

The easiest first trip to the new free Pick Up and Drop Off zones at Melbourne Airport starts with knowing which terminal your passenger is flying from. That’s what tells you whether you’re headed to the T123 Transport Hub or the T4 Transport Hub.

The new Pick Up and Drop Off zones open on 6 October. Not sure about your route? Our journey planner maps your drive in by terminal. Sign up for our newsletters for updates sent straight to your inbox, or follow Melbourne Airport on social media for the latest before your next airport run.