Australian Flight Data

Melbourne Airport

MEL · 20 monitored domestic routes · data from Jan 1985

Passenger movements
2,997,205
Apr 2026
International share
32%
964,667 movements
Aircraft movements
19,912
landings and take-offs
vs 2019
99.3%
of pre-pandemic average

Airport traffic: to Apr 2026

Melbourne handled 2,997,205 passenger movements in Apr 2026, the 2nd busiest of the 22 monitored airports. International services account for 32% of its traffic. Traffic has returned to roughly its 2019 level. Across its 15 monitored routes, 2.5% of flights were cancelled — above the national average.

A passenger movement is not the same as a passenger. Every domestic passenger is counted twice — once departing, once arriving — while an international passenger is counted once. That is the official definition, and it is why these totals cannot be added to the route figures elsewhere on this site.

Passenger movements, 1985 to 2026

01,700,6663,401,332 Apr 2025Oct 2025Apr 2026
01,700,6663,401,332Delta lockdowns close the eastern states — Jul 2021 Omicron wave hits crew availability — Jan 2022 Bonza launches on leisure routes — Nov 2023 Bonza collapses after 15 months — Mar 2024 Rex enters administration and exits the trunk routes — Aug 2024 Cyclone Alfred closes south-east Queensland airports — Mar 2025 Apr 2021Oct 2023Apr 2026
01,700,6663,401,332Tigerair Australia stops flying — Feb 2020 COVID-19 border closures begin — Mar 2020 The deepest month: domestic traffic falls 96% — Apr 2020 Rex enters the trunk routes with jets — Mar 2021 Delta lockdowns close the eastern states — Jul 2021 Omicron wave hits crew availability — Jan 2022 Bonza launches on leisure routes — Nov 2023 Bonza collapses after 15 months — Mar 2024 Rex enters administration and exits the trunk routes — Aug 2024 Cyclone Alfred closes south-east Queensland airports — Mar 2025 Apr 2016Apr 2021Apr 2026
01,700,6663,401,332The pilots' dispute grounds domestic aviation — Aug 1989 Domestic deregulation ends the Two Airline Policy — Oct 1990 Virgin Blue launches — Aug 2000 Ansett Australia collapses — Sep 2001 Jetstar launches — May 2004 OzJet's all-business experiment ends within months — Jan 2006 Tiger Airways Australia enters the market — Apr 2008 Volcanic ash cloud disrupts southern Australia — Jun 2011 Qantas grounds its entire fleet — Oct 2011 Skywest becomes Virgin Australia Regional Airlines — May 2013 Tigerair Australia stops flying — Feb 2020 COVID-19 border closures begin — Mar 2020 The deepest month: domestic traffic falls 96% — Apr 2020 Rex enters the trunk routes with jets — Mar 2021 Delta lockdowns close the eastern states — Jul 2021 Omicron wave hits crew availability — Jan 2022 Bonza launches on leisure routes — Nov 2023 Bonza collapses after 15 months — Mar 2024 Rex enters administration and exits the trunk routes — Aug 2024 Cyclone Alfred closes south-east Queensland airports — Mar 2025 Jan 1985Sep 2005Apr 2026

To Apr 2026 · Marks show industry events

Aircraft movements

010,81221,624 Apr 2025Oct 2025Apr 2026
010,81221,624Delta lockdowns close the eastern states — Jul 2021 Omicron wave hits crew availability — Jan 2022 Bonza launches on leisure routes — Nov 2023 Bonza collapses after 15 months — Mar 2024 Rex enters administration and exits the trunk routes — Aug 2024 Cyclone Alfred closes south-east Queensland airports — Mar 2025 Apr 2021Oct 2023Apr 2026
010,81221,624Tigerair Australia stops flying — Feb 2020 COVID-19 border closures begin — Mar 2020 The deepest month: domestic traffic falls 96% — Apr 2020 Rex enters the trunk routes with jets — Mar 2021 Delta lockdowns close the eastern states — Jul 2021 Omicron wave hits crew availability — Jan 2022 Bonza launches on leisure routes — Nov 2023 Bonza collapses after 15 months — Mar 2024 Rex enters administration and exits the trunk routes — Aug 2024 Cyclone Alfred closes south-east Queensland airports — Mar 2025 Apr 2016Apr 2021Apr 2026
010,81221,624The pilots' dispute grounds domestic aviation — Aug 1989 Domestic deregulation ends the Two Airline Policy — Oct 1990 Virgin Blue launches — Aug 2000 Ansett Australia collapses — Sep 2001 Jetstar launches — May 2004 OzJet's all-business experiment ends within months — Jan 2006 Tiger Airways Australia enters the market — Apr 2008 Volcanic ash cloud disrupts southern Australia — Jun 2011 Qantas grounds its entire fleet — Oct 2011 Skywest becomes Virgin Australia Regional Airlines — May 2013 Tigerair Australia stops flying — Feb 2020 COVID-19 border closures begin — Mar 2020 The deepest month: domestic traffic falls 96% — Apr 2020 Rex enters the trunk routes with jets — Mar 2021 Delta lockdowns close the eastern states — Jul 2021 Omicron wave hits crew availability — Jan 2022 Bonza launches on leisure routes — Nov 2023 Bonza collapses after 15 months — Mar 2024 Rex enters administration and exits the trunk routes — Aug 2024 Cyclone Alfred closes south-east Queensland airports — Mar 2025 Jan 1985Sep 2005Apr 2026

To Apr 2026

Busiest routes from Melbourne

RoutePassengersMonth
Melbourne ↔ Sydney 621,564 Jun 2026
Melbourne ↔ Brisbane 287,002 Jun 2026
Melbourne ↔ Adelaide 182,050 Jun 2026
Melbourne ↔ Gold Coast 149,920 Jun 2026
Melbourne ↔ Perth 148,647 Jun 2026
Melbourne ↔ Hobart 111,578 Jun 2026
Melbourne ↔ Canberra 71,267 Jun 2026
Melbourne ↔ Cairns 70,968 Jun 2026
Melbourne ↔ Launceston 65,713 Jun 2026
Melbourne ↔ Sunshine Coast 56,025 Jun 2026
Melbourne ↔ Newcastle 35,010 Jun 2026
Melbourne ↔ Darwin 31,119 Jun 2026

Route passengers are a different measure from airport movements above — one trip, not two.

Punctuality on Melbourne routes

Across all 15 monitored routes touching this airport, 2.5% of scheduled flights were cancelled over the 12 months to Jul 2026 — against a national average of 2.1%.

RouteCancelledOn timeFlights
Melbourne ↔ Sydney 4.1% 77.4% 50,235
Melbourne ↔ Devonport 3.9% 76.1% 3,096
Melbourne ↔ Canberra 3.3% 76.7% 8,865
Melbourne ↔ Launceston 2.8% 68.7% 7,232
Melbourne ↔ Mildura 2.6% 71.6% 4,345
Melbourne ↔ Brisbane 2.5% 74.7% 24,475
Melbourne ↔ Adelaide 1.3% 76.8% 16,358
Melbourne ↔ Gold Coast 1.1% 72.2% 12,623
Melbourne ↔ Newcastle 1.1% 77.1% 3,610
Melbourne ↔ Perth 1.0% 77.3% 12,723
Melbourne ↔ Hobart 0.8% 70.9% 9,812
Melbourne ↔ Cairns 0.7% 73.7% 4,450
Melbourne ↔ Darwin 0.6% 71.5% 1,994
Melbourne ↔ Sunshine Coast 0.3% 70.2% 4,676
Melbourne ↔ Ayers Rock 0.1% 81.1% 767

Punctuality: 12 months to Jul 2026

Melbourne in numbers

Busiest month on record3,401,332 · Dec 2025
National ranking, 2025 2nd busiest
Busiest year on record 37,134,291 · 2019
Data coverageJan 1985 – Apr 2026 (496 months)
Domestic share, Apr 202667.8%
2019 monthly average3,094,524