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Routes Marketing Team
July 21, 2026
Melbourne Airport reflects on their success in the Over 20 Million Passengers category at the Routes Asia Awards in Xi’an and discuss what the achievement means.
Melbourne Airport achieved a historic year in 2025, surpassing 37 million annual passengers. The year concluded with a record-breaking December, where the airport welcomed 3.42 million passengers during the month alone – a 5.4% increase. This performance further strengthened Melbourne Airport’s position as Australia’s largest 24/7 airport.
A key driver of this growth in 2025 was driven by the expansion of Melbourne Airport’s airline partnerships to 42 carriers, including three new airlines that launched inaugural Australian services from Melbourne in December alone. Delta commenced its first- ever flights to Australia from Los Angeles, operating the third longest flight in its network; Shenzhen Airlines launched its first and only Australian service; and Hong Kong Airlines began flights to Melbourne, one of the longest in their network.
Building on its strong finish last year, Melbourne Airport announced four new routes to its network, including a landmark partnership with Finnair, who selected Melbourne as their exclusive Australian destination, and the launch of the first-ever non-stop flights between Melbourne and the Maldives with Maldivian.
Reflecting on their success at the Routes Asia Awards, Michael Cullen, SVP & Head of Airline Business Development at Melbourne Airport, said: “Winning the Routes Award is humbling and a welcome recognition, particularly as it is determined by a panel of airline judges. It is gratifying to see the incredible growth and strong airline partnerships developed at Melbourne over the past 12 months acknowledged by the industry.”
“Melbourne Airport continues to go from strength to strength. We were the first airport in Australia to surpass pre-pandemic international capacity and are now exceeding all-time passenger levels monthly, but that is only possible thanks to our airline partners. This award is recognition of the hard work our teams do every day to foster and grow these vital partnerships.”
