Melbourne Airport, Australia (MEL)

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Arriving at Melbourne Airport is very easy. Offloading is quick and you're soon in the terminal. There are not very many gates which means that you're never more than a 5 minute walk from immigration. Before you get to immigration there is a Duty-Free shop selling perfume, alcohol and cigarettes. Make sure to check how much your allowance is before buying up big. There are also toilets and drinking fountains. There are also bins to dispose ...
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Overall, Melbourne airport is perfectly adequate. The staff can be rude sometimes, but not always; it's the luck of the draw. There's not really enough to do if you've got a massive layover there: I once had to wait 4 hours and nearly died of boredom, but for regular travellers it's perfectly fine. Happy Travelling!
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For the vast majority of people visiting Melbourne, the airport is the first thing you'll experience once on Australian soil. As airports go, it's perfectly fine. It's not the best airport in the world to hang out in, but neither is it a hole.
The airport is constructed as a long, low building, with the International terminal in the middle, and the two domestic parts (Virgin Blue and Qantas) on either side. Drop-off and pick-up areas run the length of the building. This review concentrates mostly on the International terminal, but the domestic terminals are pretty much exactly the same, with a few, fairly obvious, differences.

ARRIVING:

Arriving at Melbourne Airport is very easy. Offloading is quick and you're soon in the terminal. There are not very many gates which means that you're never more than a 5 minute walk from immigration. Before you get to immigration there is a Duty-Free shop selling perfume, alcohol and cigarettes. Make sure to check how much your allowance is before buying up big. There are also toilets and drinking fountains. There are also bins to dispose of any plant or animal products you are bringing into the country. Because Australia is an island, there are a lot of diseases found around the world that are unheard of in Aus. (Such as Rabies). You MUST, therefore, declare any food, wood or plants in your possession. If it's not that important to you (Snacks you brought onto the plane, for example), throw it out. Australian customs are really, really strict about this.

Immigration is fairly easy and straightforward. There are 2 lines; one for Australian passport holders, and one for 'others.' The immigration officials are a mixed bag; sometimes you'll get lovely men and women, and sometimes they're absolutely HORRIBLE. Their approach to non-English speakers used to be to just Speak Louder and with impatience, but things have been changing in recent years; especially with the hiring of more Australian-Asian immigration officials, who are bilingual.

Just past immigration and you reach the baggage reclaim area. There are more toilets here, and free trolleys. About 10 years ago, the airport did attempt to charge for the usage of trolleys, but after seeing hordes of tired, cranky travellers trying to convert their coins into Australian money, the powers that be quickly jettisoned (Ha!) that idea. Thank goodness. Once bags are collected, the fun begins.

You then have to line up, with all your bags, and have them x-Ray screened. This policy was implemented after the Terrorist attacks in America. Is it just me, or does this seem a bit ridiculous? If you're going to blow up a symbol of Western cultural hegemony, you're not going to wait until you're in the Baggage reclaim hall to do it. Whatever. Anyway. You line up, and get your bags/suitcases x-rayed. Sniffer dogs are a common sight, looking for drugs, food, and plant matter, so don't try to smuggle stuff in. If you do have something you're unsure about (Such as a wooden mask, or plant seeds), go through the Red "something to declare" channel. The officers will either sterilise it, or confiscate it.

Once you've emerged unscathed from that gauntlet, you're in the arrivals hall, where you can run emotionally into the arms of loved ones, change your money, or get a bus or a taxi into the city. Taxis are quick although a little expensive, and a return bus fare from the airport to the city will cost around AU$23/£10.

DEPARTURES:

The departures hall is nicely laid out with check-in desks organised by airline, and, within that, by travel class. There is usually a steady hum of people, but it hardly ever gets really, really chaotic; well, at least not when I'm ever there. Once you've checked in, there are some shops and places to eat.

Once you've said goodbye to any friends or family, you go through the glass sliding doors of DOOOOOOOM, and go through immigration. You receive a card when checking in, and you have to write what you've been doing, as well as your personal details. Hand this in to the immigration man/woman along with your passport and boarding pass. Then, you have to scan your hand baggage. There is also a woman who sits at a little desk asking everybody "Do you have any duty free? Any duty free?" I never see anybody answer in the affirmative. I swear, she's been there every time I've been through the airport for the last sixteen years. Perhaps she's stapled to the desk.

After that there are boarding gates and shops. The shops sell the usual paraphernalia; booze, perfume, makeup, books and magazines, CD's and souvenirs. There are also a couple of cafes if you're hungry. There are only about 12 gates at the airport, so it takes no time at all to actually get to your gate. It's quite pleasant to sit there and look out the huge floor to ceiling windows at the buzzing activity below. And from there, it's a final walk onto your plane.

Overall, Melbourne airport is perfectly adequate. The staff can be rude sometimes, but not always; it's the luck of the draw. There's not really enough to do if you've got a massive layover there: I once had to wait 4 hours and nearly died of boredom, but for regular travellers it's perfectly fine. Happy Travelling!
 

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