Overview
In the not-so-distant future, a visit to Melbourne Airport could also include a session at its sleek new rooftop bar.
Having already announced a huge overhaul of facilities — proposing extra runways, expanded pick-up and drop-off zones, and extra travelators — the airport has just revealed another swag of potential improvements, on the cards as part of a planned $500 million makeover.
The ambitious suite of proposals include a four-storey revamp for Terminal 2 (the international terminal), complete with rooftop bar and restaurant — an apparent nod to the CBD's famed laneway bars — viewing deck, five new airline lounges, extra seating and around 30 new specialty shops and eateries, with a focus on dishing up a high-end pre-flight experience for international travellers.
Meanwhile, building is set to start early next year on a 464-room Fender Katsalidis-designed hotel near Terminal 4, which would house its own commercial gym and pool. This will be built in conjunction with the Accor group, with half of the rooms Novotel branded, and the other, Ibis.
Other plans include the addition of four new roads and an elevated road loop network to help ease congestion, including an express elevated connection from the Tullamarine Freeway to the existing T4 Express Link. The airport's also set to score its own solar farm to supply all that extra energy. It's being installed beside the Northern Access Road, with 20,000 solar panels to be unveiled in the first stage by 2020.
Best of all, this hefty makeover could mean eventually forking out less for flights. "More efficient airline operations and a greater number of airlines attracted to Melbourne, all combine to bring down airfares," said Melbourne Airport CEO Lyell Strambi in a statement. "So you get a better airport experience, and a cheaper flight, and a wider choice of destinations you can fly to."
If approved, work on the Terminal 2 upgrade would kick off in October 2019, and is slated for completion by late 2022 — the same year construction on Melbourne's Airport Rail will hopefully begin.