Melbourne’s new private jet terminal to open in 2018
- May 10, 2017
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Melbourne Airport will get its own VIP air services terminal dedicated to high-flyers jetting into Melbourne to enjoy the best of the city.
The Melbourne private jet terminal will be ‘curfew-free’ Base and is set to welcome private jets in the later half of 2018. It’s expected to be a perfect landing spot for major events that the city hosts like the Australian Open, Melbourne Cup and Formula 1 Grand Prix.
The base is also intended to attract the growing ranks of Asia’s super-rich. Bombardier Business Aircraft predicts that by 2033 China will be the world’s third-biggest market for executive jets after the US and Europe.
Construction has already begun on the terminal, which sits within the Melbourne Aviation Precinct on the site of the former engineering and maintenance facility of Ansett Australia and represents a $100 million investment by the Little Group.
Under Melbourne Airport’s current arrangements, all arriving international travellers are fed through the same channels, although the airport offers a ‘VIP room’ in the international arrivals and baggage reclaim hall where selected passengers can gather before braving the scrum to exit into the public area.(However, for some VIPs the airport does allow ‘tarmac transfers’ based on safety and security requirements.)
The Melbourne Jet Base terminal has been designed by award-winning Cox Architects and will include hangar and servicing facilities for private jet owners, pilot accommodation and a display hangar to showcase a vintage DC3 aircraft
Crown Casino’s three Bombardier Global Express XRS jets are already based at the existing facility and will eventually be linked to the casino by a helicopter service to whisk VIPs straight from the terminal to the tables.
