March delivers eighth year of international passenger growth for Melbourne Airport

The result also marked eight consecutive years of growth in international passengers for Melbourne Airport.

While missing last year's busy Easter travel period, the airport still recorded three per cent growth in international passengers compared to March 2016.

Passenger numbers on domestic routes increased by 1.1 per cent for the month, with more than 2.1 million passengers flying through Melbourne.

The numbers contributed to a strong March quarter, with international passenger numbers up by 6.6 per cent on the same period for 2016. Domestic passengers increased by 0.8 per cent for the period.

Melbourne Airport CEO Lyell Strambi said the first three months of 2017 had seen work progress on several capacity-boosting projects at the airport.

"With eight years of consistent growth in international passenger traffic, it's really clear that Melbourne and Victoria are riding a wave of unprecedented growth as destinations of choice for more travellers than ever before," said Mr Strambi.

"The introduction of a growing number of lighter, longer-range aircraft, such as the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350, will see passenger traffic to Melbourne continue to grow.

"This trend has allowed airlines to achieve better economies on existing routes, as well as opening up new point-to-point services over longer distances than ever before.

"All that points to strong, sustainable growth in the number of international visitors heading to Melbourne, and that means we need to manage the airport to ensure we can facilitate that growth and ultimately help drive Victoria's visitor economy.

"The most important thing we can do is ensure that development of the airport keeps pace with this growing traffic, so that we do not become an artificial constraint on Victoria's growth," said Mr Strambi.

The year to date has seen work begin on the installation of an eighth baggage carousel in International Arrivals.

This significant project will increase capacity by around 15 per cent once operational, reducing baggage collection times and helping travellers get out of the airport and onward to their destinations.

Passenger figures for March 2017:

*monthly percentage growth compared to March 2016

Passenger figures for January - March (Q3) 2017:

*monthly percentage growth compared to January - March 2016