Melbourne Airport pockets $1.1bn in exorbitant carparking fees

MELBOURNE airport has raked in $1.1 billion in carpark­ing charges in the past decade and made a whopping $370,000 a day last year.

Revenue at Melbourne Airport has continued to outstrip other major airports nationwide.

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MELBOURNE airport has raked in $1.1 billion in carpark­ing charges in the past decade.

The unpopular fees tore $135.3 million from users last year — more than $370,000 a day, an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission review shows.

Revenue continued to outstrip other major airports monitored nationwide last financial year, despite dipping by $11.7 million compared to the previous year.

Customers are slugged “drive-up” rates of $5 for up to 15 minutes, $10 for 15-30 minutes, $15 for an hour and $59 for a day at Melbourne’s terminal carparks.

Seven-day parking is $99 at the long-term carpark.

But annual parking profit fell from $107.6 million to $79.9 million after the airport, criticised about sky-high margins for many years, changed how it allocated costs.

It still managed to seize 59c profit for every dollar.

Passengers at Melbourne Airport.

“(It) is still an extremely profitable business, whichever way you cut it,” ACCC chairman Rod Sims said.

Of the airport’s altered method, he said: “It may well indicate some sensitivity.”

Melbourne airport spokesman Grant Smith said some carparking costs, such as maintenance and cleaning, were not previously assigned against parking revenues, instead being called other operating expenses until a company restructure last year.

He said Melbourne had more parking spaces than other airports and had stepped up efforts to give better value.

“Part of that is the mix of transport options available, whether that’s taxi, SkyBus or something else, and part of it is whether the parking product is meeting the needs of the ­customers who use it. We don’t think we’ve nailed it yet, but it’s a work in progress,” he said.

Even if you’re just dropping someone off, you’ll be slugged “drive-up” rates of $5 for up to 15 minutes.

The ACCC assesses Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Perth’s main airports.

It noted they could impede parking alternatives by raising landside access prices for taxis and off-site parking operators.

While booking online cost up to half the price of drive-up rates, customers mainly capitalised on discounts for longer rather than shorter carparking stays.

Mr Smith said substantial investments, such as the new Terminal 4, extra international terminal gates, and an international terminal luxury retail and dining precinct redevelopment, were needed to keep pace with global standards.

Melbourne airport’s overall service quality rating lifted from “satisfactory” to “good” for 2015-16, but was the lowest of Australia’s four major monopoly airports, the report said.

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@KarenCollierHS