Melbourne Airport

Compiled by Bill Gao

Melbourne, Victoria (Australia)

IATA: MEL ICAO: YMML

Longest Active Runway

11,998 ft

3,657 meters

Field Elevation

434 ft

132 m MSL

Runway Inventory

2 active

Lighted / Paved

Coordinates & Class

-37.6707°, 144.8379°

LARGE AIRPORT

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Multi-Universe Rankings & Statistical Standing

How ranks work →

RunwayFacts Published Dataset

#202 of 650

In curated primary commercial index

Global Commercial Universe

#320 of 7558

Top 4.2% percentile worldwide

National Standing (Australia)

#2 of 9 in AU

#3 of 537 in full national registry

vs Large Airport Median

+20%

Compared to 10,000 ft baseline

💡 MEL in numbers: 11,998 ft longest runway · #202 of 650 published · #320 of 7,558 worldwide (top 4.2%) · #2 in Australia.

🔬 Operational & Aerodrome Engineering Comparative Analysis

Longest runway ≥10,500 ft

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Elevation & National Context

Lowland Aerodrome (<2,000 ft)

MEL lies at 132 m (434 ft), #289 of 650 published airports by elevation and 49.2 percentile among 7,558 worldwide. It is 403 ft above the Australia median (31 ft, 9 airports) and the highest published airport in the country.

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Regional Density & Alternates (100 NM)

1 Qualifying Aerodrome in Vicinity

Closest of 1 paved-runway (≥5,000 ft) neighbour within 100 NM: Melbourne Avalon International Airport (AVV), 28.3 NM, 10,000 ft. MEL has the longest runway in this radius, 1,998 ft over AVV.

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Runway Inventory & National Standing

Primary Runway: 11,998 ft (3,657 m)

MEL runways: 16/34 11,998 × 197 ft asphalt (asp); 09/27 7,500 × 148 ft asphalt (asp). National standing: #2 of 9 in Australia; SYD leads by 1,001 ft (12,999 ft). +20% vs the 10,000 ft baseline.

🛫 Physical Runway Inventory & Surface Engineering

Runway Designator	Length (ft / m)	Width (ft / m)	Surface Material	Lighting	Status
16/34	11,998 ft (3657 m / 3.657 km)	197 ft (60m)	`Asphalt (ASP)`	✅ Lighted	✅ Active
09/27	7,500 ft (2286 m / 2.286 km)	148 ft (45m)	`Asphalt (ASP)`	✅ Lighted	✅ Active

🧭 Comparative Aerodromes (100 NM Radius, ≥5,000 ft Paved)

Great-circle Haversine spatial proximity matching for commercial facilities with paved runway capacity within 100 NM.

Aerodrome Name	IATA	Distance	Longest Runway	Lighting
Melbourne Avalon International Airport (Geelong/Melbourne)	`AVV`	28.3 NM (52.4 km)	10,000 ft	✅ Lighted

🛡️ Source: OurAirports Open Aviation Database, snapshot 2026-09-01 · Provenance →