Melbourne Airport Runway Development Program

The Runway Development Program (RDP) is part of Melbourne Airport’s plan to meet the growing demand for air travel to and from Melbourne.
Just over 34.6 million passengers passed through Melbourne Airport in 2016 and this is forecast to reach 64 million passengers by 2033.

To meet this demand the airport will need to expand its runway system to allow for more flights and reduce the amount of time planes spend on the ground waiting to depart or in the air waiting to land.

Under the RDP Melbourne Airport is proposing to construct a new east–west runway. This third runway will be located 2 kilometres to the south of the existing east–west runway and will be 3 kilometres long and 60 metres wide and capable of handling all aircraft types.

The existing east–west runway is also proposed to be extended from 2.2 kilometres to 3 kilometres and widened from 45 to 60 metres.

Approval for the RDP is required from the Commonwealth Government via a Major Development Plan (MDP) which is currently being developed by Melbourne Airport.