Orbx has recently published previews of their upcoming rendition of Melbourne Airport for X-Plane 12. Serving the city of Melbourne, it had more than 30,500,000 passenger operations in 2023 and more than 215,000 aircraft movements, making it the second busiest airport in Australia.
In May 1957, plans for making a new airport near Melbourne were announced. Thirteen years later, the Melbourne International Airport was opened, ending Melbourne Essendon’s 20 years of being an international airport for Melbourne. During the first year of operation, Melbourne Airport handled 155,275 passengers and six international airlines.
During the late 1980s, the Australian Government formed the Federal Airport Commission and placed Melbourne Intl’ Airport under their control along with 21 other airports. The first major updates were carried out at the domestic terminals, while the other upgrade included a new three-story concourse equipped with 10 jet bridges.
However, in 1994, all FAC-operated airports would be privatised in several phases. This included Melbourne International Airport as well and since then, it has been under the control of Australia Pacific Airports Corporation. Since the privatisation, further improvements to the infrastructure were completed, such as expansions to the runways, terminals, and car parks.
In 2005, the airport underwent construction to prepare for the arrival of the Airbus A380. This included widening the main runway by nearly 50ft, construction of dual jetbridges, as well as extension of the terminal building.
Today, more than 40 airlines offer passenger flights to Melbourne to over 120 destinations on four continents. Melbourne also receives a significant amount of cargo flights, as 8 cargo airlines serve Melbourne with regular scheduled cargo flights to 21 destinations.
Orbx’s rendition of Melbourne International Airport will feature high-resolution imagery, updated airport layout, SAM and OpenSAM custom animated jetways, dynamic lighting, animated 3D vegetation, detailed terminal interiors and control tower interiors, and custom ground polygons with detailed markings.
Stay tuned to Threshold for more flight sim news!