Melbourne Airport plans $500m third runway for 2018-2022
By David Flynn, November 20 2012
Melbourne Airport hopes to open its third runway by 2018-2022 at an estimated cost of $500m.
To be aligned east-west, the proposed third runway will operate in parallel to the existing east-west runway as well as the current north-south runway. It will be approximately 3000 metres long and 60 metres wide, and capable of handling the A380 superjumbo.
“The Melbourne Airport draft Master Plan envisages that a new runway will be needed around 2018-2022 to meet the demand from domestic and international airlines as the number of passengers travelling through Melbourne continues to grow" said Melbourne Airport CEO, Chris Woodruff, in announcing plans for the new runway.
“Passenger numbers are forecast to reach 40 million by the end of the decade, and more than 60 million by 2033.”
“A new east-west runway will enable Melbourne Airport to handle more aircraft movements, more efficiently" Woodruff said.
"Passengers will spend less time on the ground taxiing to and from terminals, and aircraft will burn less fuel on more direct flight paths and shorter trips from the gate to the runway."
Public consultation on the plan will be sought in early 2013, with the necessary planning, consultation and approval process expected to be carried out by 2015-2016.
The new runway would have a construction timeframe of two to four years, which will see it ready for operation around 2018-2022.
David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
Qantas
10 Sep 2011
Total posts 162
Meanwhile Brisbane struggles to get a second runway going.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
17 Aug 2012
Total posts 2204
Meanwhile Sydney is in total paralysis over expansion of airport capacity.
Qantas
10 Sep 2011
Total posts 162
Maybe it is simply time for Australian head offices to give up on Sydney. It's pretty, but persevering with Sydney as a place to do business courtesy of the mediocre infrastructure that governments at all levels don't want to fix means sticking with Sydney for any company is WOFTAM.
01 Nov 2012
Total posts 6
maybe they should also invest in some form of public transport to and from the airport to the CBD
03 Jan 2011
Total posts 665
I was going to say, "perhaps a train first", but that seemed churlish.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
06 Aug 2012
Total posts 65
By all accounts, you'll have to head to Avalon if you want a rail connection to the City anytime soon.....
China Southern Airlines - Sky Pearl Club
21 Feb 2013
Total posts 16
NO your not being churlish. if memory serves.the deal done by the Kennet goverment to appease City Link, there would be no rail link to tullamarine,up to date no goverment of any party has had the guts to change this disgusting policy, so city link now has no opposition till ther contract finishes.Once again the public has to suffer !!!
23 Nov 2012
Total posts 1
Quote: "Meanwhile Sydney is in total paralysis over expansion of airport capacity"
Disagree - Perth is. This capacity of SYD is artificially capped by the 80 per hour movement cap enshrined in the legislation. Nothing to do with the actual capacity of the airport, nor Airservices ability to manage the traffic; notwithstanding single-runway operations. The Minister for Mascot is completely repsonsible - and quite clearly is comfortable being responsible - for the continuing debacle with movement caps and curfews which together are plaguing the ability of SYD to be able for efficiently and effectively cater for the air traffic which operates there let alone for any further growth.
Politically motivated capping, curfews and 'noise sharing' schemes and the consistent refusal of airline operators to schedule more effectively and sympathetically into SYD, PER and BNE to help balance demand against capacity, makes an already farcical situation now almost completely unsustainable. Unenthusiastic (read: ignorant?) airport authorities are now 20 years behind the times in reacting to catering for the current demand let alone for future demand which will lead to more of the same....so get used to it. The parallel runway in BNE won't make a jot of difference when it finally becomes operational and until WAC admit they have capacity and infracstructure issues (i.e. parallel runway, rapid exit taxyways...) to deal with, PER will continue to be a basket case while the resources boom persists.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
18 Oct 2012
Total posts 130
What is the point of building a third runway @ Tulla, if transport is not adequate to handle the growing numbers of end users . I wonder if government authorities pay for the use of the car park @ Tulla? Big $$$, or whether they catch a "Sky Bus" to the airport? one would think not, because if it were the case ,a train line would have been put there years ago. I think $500 Mil or more just spent on up grading Mel airport also. Can anyone tell?
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