Families are making the most of April’s condensed Easter and Anzac Day public holidays, with Melbourne Airport expecting a significant increase in traveller numbers.
International passenger numbers are forecast to be 24 per cent higher than the same period last year, as travellers take advantage of additional capacity to make the most of their annual leave.
More than two million passengers are expected to pass through Melbourne Airport over the school holiday period, with a further 729,000 travellers set to depart or arrive the week of the Anzac Day public holiday.
Thursday April 17 is forecast to be the busiest day of the holiday period, with 118,000 passengers expected through the terminals ahead of the Easter long weekend.
Despite Victorian schools going back on Easter Tuesday, the number of people booked to travel between April 22 and April 28 is up 11 per cent on last year.
Melbourne Airport chief of ground transport, property and retail Jai McDermott said the airport was ready to accommodate the extended holiday crowds.
“We’ve flexed up operations across the business over the next three weeks to cater for the busy period, which means you’ll see more cleaners, more security and more customer service staff on deck to get your holiday off to the right start,” said Mr McDermott, who added that travellers should book parking online ahead of their departure and allow an extra 30 minutes to get to the airport on the day of their flight to avoid any disruptions.
However, he said some delays would be unavoidable.
“We’ve recently opened a new baggage hall in Terminal 3 along with a new state-of-the-art security point in Terminal 1, but there are other significant upgrades taking place across the airport that will cause disruptions, so we thank our passengers for their patience.”
