Melbourne Airport excited to welcome back international tourists

Tuesday, February 8, 2022

Melbourne Airport has welcomed the Federal Government’s decision to allow fully vaccinated international tourists to travel to Australia from 21 February, with more businesses across various sectors now able to start planning with confidence.

The decision will help improve the viability of international flights into Melbourne and means airlines can start selling seats to millions more potential passengers.

Melbourne Airport’s Chief of Aviation Lorie Argus said the confirmation of a reopening date gives certainty to an industry that has suffered significant economic losses over the past two years.

“Like other businesses across the tourism and aviation sectors, we are celebrating the Federal Government’s announcement and can’t wait to warmly welcome international visitors once again,” she said.

“Having a firm date to look forward to means that businesses can begin the process of preparing to welcome back international tourists.

“While we have continued to work with our airline partners throughout the pandemic to open new routes and welcome new airlines to Melbourne, this decision gives more confidence to airlines to re-start routes and sell tickets to international tourists who have been eager to visit or re-visit our wonderful country.

“There’s a lot of work to be done to recover from the pandemic and return to the strong, multi-billion-dollar industry we once were, but we are excited to continue to work with airlines and the industry to build back a resilient travel and tourism sector in Australia.”

Melbourne Airport had an average of 5,000 international passengers pass through its doors each day last week, which is around 15% of the around 32,000 international passengers on an average day in February prior to the pandemic.

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