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Not to be outdone, Melbourne Airport has unveiled plans to have its new T4 domestic terminal opened by 2014 as part of a planned $300 million expansion.
The news comes days after Sydney Airport flagged a major overhaul of its terminals.
Melbourne’s new Terminal Four will replace a rudimentary terminal currently used by Tiger Airways. Airport CEO Chris Woodruff told The Age that discussions were still ongoing as to which airlines would use the new terminal, but it will likely be aimed at domestic low costs carriers.
The project will also include improvements to road accessing the airport and an extension of Virgin Australia’s Terminal Three.
The project would retain one of Melbourne Airport’s key advantages over Sydney Airport by keeping all terminals under one roof, saving passengers from having to change terminals as they transfer between domestic and international routes.
Sydney’s proposed overhaul would partly address this by reorganising its terminals based on airline rather than destination. Under the plan, Qantas and its allies would take over the current domestic terminals while Virgin, its allies, and independent airlines would take over the current international terminal. The proposal, still in its planning stages, could see completion by 2019.
