Why Book Accessible Parking at Melbourne Airport Ahead of Your Trip

At Melbourne Airport, Accessible Parking is one of the few parts of travel day you can settle months out. The T123 Accessible Car Park is bookable up to 12 months before you travel. And when you or someone you’re travelling with has accessibility needs, getting that done early leaves more room for everything else.

There are Accessible Parking spaces in every onsite car park at Melbourne Airport, most of them on a ‘first-come, first-in’ basis. The T123 Accessible Car Park is the one you can hold in your name ahead of time. Book it early and pay T123 Terminal Car Park rates. On the day, you drive straight to Level 2 of the T123 Car Park, park in a bay that’s yours to pick, and make your way across the covered pedestrian bridge through to Terminals 1, 2 and 3.

You need a booking to park in the T123 Accessible Car Park. Everywhere else, the Accessible Parking bays are ‘first-come, first-in’, but you can still book online if you’d rather have the whole thing settled before you drive in.

The 71 fully undercover bays in the T123 Accessible Car Park are closest to the new pedestrian bridge through to Terminal 2 for international flights. They split across two sides. About half sit by the Virgin Australia bridge to Terminal 3, and half sit closer to Terminal 1 for Qantas domestic.

To book and park here, you’ll need two things:

• A valid Australian Disability Parking Permit, on display and clearly visible through the windscreen for as long as you’re parked. A clear photocopy on the dashboard is accepted if you’re taking the original with you.
• Your booking, which covers access to the T123 Accessible Car Park rather than one particular bay, so you take whichever vacant bay suits you once you’re inside.

Dropping off or picking up someone who holds a Companion Card? You can get a full parking fee refund for a short-term stay of two hours or less in either of our Terminal Car Parks.

The best time to book Accessible Parking at Melbourne Airport is the day your flights are confirmed. Booking online opens 12 months ahead of your travel date, and it doesn’t lock you into a schedule you have to hit to the minute.

Every online booking has a grace period built in, which is 2 hours either side of your booked times on stays over 4 hours and 1 hour either side on shorter ones. If traffic on the Tullamarine Freeway runs slow or you reach the boom gate early, you’re covered.

For the bigger what-ifs, you can add the optional Overstay Guarantee while booking for a small fee. It covers overstay charges if a flight home is delayed or cancelled without a replacement, a border closes or illness stops you from flying back.

If the plan itself changes, your booking can change with it. Through the My Bookings page, you can amend or cancel free of charge up to 2 hours before your booked entry time. Already parked and the trip has stretched? Extend your stay there any time before your booked exit. If the new date or time costs a little more, you just pay the difference.

Booking Accessible Parking early means most of the travel day is already decided before it starts. Your car park, your route in and your rate are settled weeks out, so there’s little left to work out on the day you fly.

• Booking early locks your rate in when you book, so it’s settled ahead of the day rather than charged at the drive-up rate on arrival. The T123 Accessible Car Park is pre-book-only, so booking ahead is built into how you park there.
• You know exactly where you’re heading before you leave home, down to the car park and the accessibility facilities available.
• You’ve got time to check the airport and terminal maps ahead of the day, so the layout, the lifts and the nearest terminal entrance are familiar before you arrive.
• You can arrange special assistance in advance. Our Melbourne Airport Assist team can meet you at your bay and take you through to the check-in counters at no cost.
• You can plan around our Hidden Disability Program. Pick up a Sunflower lanyard at any Mobility Hub, and staff will know to offer a little more time or support.

Once your booking is in, you’ll receive a confirmation email with a QR code. Scan it at the boom gate on the way in, then the same code on the way out. No ticket to keep track of and nothing to pay at the gate.

Yes. You can drive up on the day and park in any of our other onsite car parks without a booking. Every one of them has ‘first-come, first-in’ Accessible Parking bays, sitting close to the lifts, terminal entrances or bus stops.

• Flying Qantas from Terminal 1, Virgin Australia from Terminal 3 or overseas from Terminal 2? The T123 Terminal Car Park has Accessible Parking bays, right next to the lifts, with the covered link bridge through to all three terminals.
• Flying Jetstar, Rex or Link Airways out of Terminal 4? The T4 Terminal Car Park has Accessible Parking bays and is a short distance from Terminal 4. Terminal 3 sits right beside it, so it also suits Virgin Australia travellers who are travelling light with carry-on only.
• Rather keep costs down? The open-air Value Car Parks just off Mercer Drive and Airport Drive also have Accessible Parking bays. The Value North Car Park has 89 bays closest to Bus Shelter A, and the Value South Car Park has 18 closest to Bus Shelter J. Each runs a free 24/7 wheelchair-friendly bus to the terminals every 15 minutes.

On the day, there are HELP buttons at the boom gates and throughout the car park that put you straight through to our customer service team, whatever the hour. If you’d rather not park the car yourself at all, Melbourne Airport Valet and Qantas Valet both let you hand the keys to our valet parking team and walk to check-in.

Flights locked in? Book parking online now while the dates are still open on your screen. The T123 Accessible Car Park is the only Accessible Parking at Melbourne Airport you can hold in advance, and it’s bookable from 12 months out, so there's no reason for it to be sitting on your list in the final week.

Before you travel, visit Melbourne Airport’s Online Mobility Hub for journey videos, facility guides and sensory maps worth a look. For limited-time offers and subscriber-only codes, sign up to our Parking Deals newsletter, and we’ll send them straight to your inbox. You can also follow Melbourne Airport on social media for whatever else is happening around the precinct.