Melbourne Airport has been ranked as Australia’s least convenient among the country’s 11 major airports, according to a newly released convenience index compiled by travel insurance provider iSelect.
The ranking about convenient airports, published on 12 August 2025, compared airports across five key factors: the average cost of airport parking, transport costs (including public transit and taxis), distance from the city centre, overall daily passenger volume, and queueing times—sourced from airport annual reports and consumer feedback via Airline Quality.
iSelect’s data analyst, Sarah Grealy, called out the lack of an airport rail link as the root of the problem: “The lack of transport to the airport is where it all initiated from.” Indeed, with no direct train service, Melbourne Airport depends on the privately operated SkyBus for public transport access—a limitation that significantly drove down its convenience rating.
Moreover, Melbourne scored poorly due to a combination of factors: high parking costs, expensive public transport and taxi fares, and its relatively distant location from the city centre. Sydney’s airport, while faring slightly better, still landed near the bottom in second-worst place with a score of 2.43, burdened by costly parking and long queues.
In response to the critical ranking, a spokesperson from Melbourne Airport highlighted that it is the largest 24-hour airport in Australia and was deliberately built away from densely populated areas. They also pointed out that parking rates begin at just AU$12 per day, which is reportedly the cheapest among all major city airports in Australia. The spokesperson emphasized that public transport infrastructure to the airport falls under the jurisdiction of government, not the airport itself.
This ranking underscores a growing concern over infrastructure and accessibility at key transit hubs. Despite Melbourne Airport’s strengths—such as its status as the country’s only 24-hour airport and its impressive global standings in comparative Skytrax surveys—it appears that on-the-ground convenience remains a major pain point for both travellers and locals alike.
If you’re interested, I can also draw comparisons to how Melbourne fares in other rankings or explore what plans might be underway to improve its connectivity and traveller experience.
