‘Not an upgrade for everyone’: Melbourne Airport changes to add half an hour to disability travel times

Melbourne Airport’s upcoming changes to pick-up and drop-off zones will make it harder for people with disabilities and mobility challenges to travel independently, advocates have warned.

From October 6, kerbside pick-up and drop-off will be abolished, with domestic and international travellers required to walk between 172 and 380 metres to new dedicated zones in the airport’s undercover carpark.

Suzanne Cridge, who lives with inclusion body myositis and regularly travels interstate, said the changes will make life harder for her and others who travel solo.

“They’re promoting this as an upgrade,” Cridge said. “It’s not an upgrade for everyone.”

The Southbank resident was diagnosed five years ago with the rare degenerative muscle disease that diminished her physical strength and resulted in poor balance. She said the current drop-off and pick-up zone, which is located roughly 20 metres from the terminal, has made unassisted travelling feasible.

But the new zone will put her at higher risk of falling or other injuries, and more likely to require assistance from airline and airport staff.

“The point I’m making is that we work really hard to maintain a degree of normality in our lives,” Cridge said.

“The reality of our experience is that it’s hit or miss. That’s why I’m worried about being dropped off at such a distance from the terminal.”

Cridge also estimates that the extended zone will add at least an additional 30 minutes to her travel time.

Ally Scott, executive officer of advocacy group Disability Rights and Culture, also warned about the impact of the change.

“It’s always a concern when a development leaves people dependent on other people for an additional add-on service because that’s always a diminishment of independent travel,” Scott said. “And so that’s never going to be an ideal solution.”

An airport spokesperson told this masthead that as part of the new zoning, the Melbourne Airport Assist program will extend its operating hours from 3am to 1am daily, and there will be designated pick-up and drop-off spaces for people requiring assistance.

The free drop-off zone will have a five-minute time limit, after which drivers will be redirected to the T123 carpark – where the first 15 minutes are free – or to a free 60-minute waiting zone.

The airport will also introduce pre-bookable Disability Discrimination Act parking spaces in the undercover carpark for individuals to park as close to the terminals as possible.

In partnership with Travellers Aid, the free assistance program will use powered wheelchairs and golf cart buggies to transport passengers around the airport.

“We plan to have plenty of support available on the ground to help people navigate the new pick-up and drop-off arrangement when it opens on October 6,” the spokesperson said.

Melbourne Airport said it worked with accessibility consulting group Get Skilled Access to develop the program and prepare for the October 6 changes coming into effect.

Independent consultant and former Paralympian Nick Morris worked with Get Skilled Access to help develop the assist program and said that although a closer drop-off point is preferred, the sheer volume of travellers at the airport meant that changes were needed.

Melbourne Airport estimates that more than 100,000 people travel through the airport daily, with annual passenger numbers predicted to reach 75 million by 2047.

“What they need to do is to make sure that the frequency of golf carts, the frequency of electric wheelchairs, all of this assistance that get people from A to B seamlessly is done properly,” Morris said.

The changes announced early this year are a part of the airport’s plans to expand its international terminal into the forecourt where the current pick-up and drop-off area is.

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