Why there is no airport train
Melbourne Airport is one of the few large capital-city airports in Australia without a rail link, and that is still true today. The Victorian government's Melbourne Airport Rail project is under construction, but only in its early stage: the West Footscray to Albion rail upgrade is described as Stage 1 and is stated to be complete in 2030.
The project FAQs say a new station will be built at the airport, with services running via Sunshine and the Metro Tunnel, roughly 30 minutes to the CBD every 10 minutes once open. No passenger opening date for the airport section is published on those pages.
For planning purposes, treat rail as a future option, not a current one. Everything below assumes you are arriving by road on the Tullamarine Freeway.
SkyBus to Southern Cross Station
The SkyBus Melbourne City Express is the direct airport-to-CBD service, and it is the option most arriving travellers will want. SkyBus lists kerbside stops outside baggage claim at Terminals 1, 3 and 4, marked with red signage, and states that Terminal 4 is pick-up only on this route.
In the city the service uses Southern Cross Station on Spencer Street. Buses back to the airport leave from Bay 75; arrivals from the airport are set down at a separate drop-off bay.
SkyBus publishes fixed fares that do not change by time of day.
The table below compares the published SkyBus Melbourne City Express fare types.
| Fare type | One way | Return |
|---|---|---|
| Adult | AUD 25.90 | AUD 43.40 |
| Child (4–16) | AUD 6.60 | AUD 11.00 |
| Senior (AU card) | AUD 20.70 | AUD 35.10 |
| 10-trip pass | AUD 180.00 | App only |
Tickets are bought online, in the SkyBus app, or at self-serve e-kiosks in the terminals and at Southern Cross. The e-kiosks are card only, and SkyBus points cash payers to a concierge desk at 3/200 Spencer Street opposite the station. You do not book a specific departure — SkyBus describes the service as turn-up-and-go.
Two things to be clear about. Your myki card does not pay for SkyBus — the Victorian government lists SkyBus services under the heading that no myki is needed, separately from the myki bus routes. And SkyBus's current service list names six routes with no hotel transfer shuttle among them, so do not plan on a free minibus from Southern Cross to your hotel door; budget for a short tram, taxi or walk at the city end.
Public bus routes with myki
Public bus routes do serve Melbourne Airport, and they are the cheap option if you are willing to change vehicles. The Victorian government lists route 901 from the airport to Broadmeadows, Roxburgh Park, Epping and Greensborough, running every 15 minutes at busy times and about every 30 minutes otherwise.
Route 901 is a SmartBus, not an airport express: you ride to Broadmeadows and change to a suburban train for the CBD. Routes 478, 479 and 482 also stop at the Terminal 4 bus interchange, heading towards Airport West and Sunbury.
All of these take myki, the state's transport card, so the fare is an ordinary public transport fare rather than an airport price. What you give up is time, a guaranteed seat and an easy luggage experience.
- Best for solo budget travellers with a backpack and no fixed check-in time.
- Poor for anyone with two large cases — you are lifting them on and off a bus, then onto a train.
- Poor late at night, when both bus and train frequencies drop.
- You need a myki before you board; buy and top up before leaving the terminal.
- Check the current fare and timetable on the Victorian transport airports page rather than assuming.
Taxis and rideshare from the terminals
Taxis and rideshare both work at Melbourne Airport, but they load from different places, so know which you are taking before you leave the building. Melbourne Airport lists taxi ranks on the ground floor outside T1, T2 and in the T4 Transport Hub, and warns against accepting any ride offered away from a designated rank.
Rideshare splits by airline. Melbourne Airport directs Qantas, international and Virgin Australia passengers to lane 1 of the forecourt, and Jetstar, Rex or Link Airways passengers to level 2 inside the T4 Ground Transport Hub.
Both modes carry an airport charge on top of the meter or app price. Melbourne Airport publishes a rideshare charge of AUD 4.48 including GST per trip, which operators may pass on to the passenger, and a taxi access fee of AUD 5.26 including GST effective from 1 July 2026.
Melbourne Airport gives about 30 minutes to the CBD by taxi, the same order as SkyBus. That figure assumes the Tullamarine Freeway is moving. In the weekday morning peak inbound and the late-afternoon peak outbound, the freeway and the CityLink section through the tunnels can add substantially to that, and a metered taxi keeps charging while you sit in it. SkyBus sits in the same traffic but at a fixed price, which is the real difference on a bad day.
Which option fits your group
The right answer flips on group size, luggage and arrival time rather than on which mode is objectively best. Work through your own case before you commit at the kerb.
- A family of four: two adults and two children on SkyBus is AUD 65.00 one way at published fares, which puts a single taxi or rideshare in genuine contention once the access fee and any peak-hour crawl are counted. With car seats or a pram, the door-to-door vehicle usually wins.
- Two large cases: SkyBus or a taxi. The 901-plus-train route asks you to handle bags through a change at Broadmeadows, and there is no benefit to that if you are already tired.
- Landing between 1am and 4am: taxi or rideshare, on the operator's stated SkyBus hours. Ranks and rideshare zones operate through the night; plan the fare rather than the timetable.
- Staying outside the CBD: Southern Cross is a hub, not a destination. If your hotel is in St Kilda, Box Hill or the west, check whether a SkyBus Peninsula, Eastern or Sunshine Express service lands closer than the city terminus does.
- Tight connection to a regional train: Southern Cross is also the V/Line terminus, so SkyBus puts you inside the right building for Geelong, Ballarat or Bendigo services.
Avalon Airport is a different airport
Avalon Airport (AVV) is a separate airport, not a terminal of Melbourne Airport, and some budget flights use it. Avalon states it sits 15 kilometres from Geelong and about 45 minutes from Melbourne's CBD, on the opposite side of the city from Tullamarine.
There is no quick hop between the two. If your inbound flight lands at Tullamarine and your outbound leaves from Avalon, that is a separate cross-city journey to plan and pay for.
Avalon lists SkyBus's Avalon City Express to Southern Cross Station, departing Bay 74 in the city, with fares stated from AUD 25 for adults and AUD 20 for seniors, plus a MyBus Geelong door-to-door service requiring at least two business days' notice, and public route 18 from Lara Station with myki.
Before you leave the arrivals hall
Decide your mode while you are still inside the terminal, because the taxi rank, the rideshare zone and the SkyBus stop are in different places and backtracking with luggage is slow. Check the SkyBus journey planner or the PTV app for the next departure, and buy your ticket in the app before you walk out.
If you are heading for a rideshare, confirm which pickup zone your airline maps to before you follow signs. If you are taking public buses, buy and top up a myki inside the terminal.
Fares, access fees and timetables on this page were read on 7 September 2026 and change without much notice. Confirm the number that decides your choice on the operator's own page on the day you travel.