Melbourne preferred runways

These runway preferences apply to all aircraft. All times on this page are Melbourne local time. A mode combines landing and departure runways; the priority is for that combination.

Day and evening: 06:00–23:00

Priority	Landing runway	Departure runway	Conditions and permitted alternatives
Equal first	16	27	Subject to traffic, runway 16 departures may be permitted for south- and eastbound routes under the aircraft conditions below.
Equal first	27	27 and 34	Subject to traffic, runway 34 landings are permitted for arrivals via PORTS STAR through the south-west to ALAXO STAR.
Second	09	16	This combination is unavailable from 23:00 to 06:00.
Third	27	27	No additional condition is printed for this row.
Fourth	34 or 16	34 or 16	No additional condition is printed for this row.
Fifth	09	09	Runway 09 itself has equal-first landing preference but the lowest departure preference; see below.

For the first row’s runway 16 departure alternative, the south- or eastbound aircraft must be either:

A propeller-driven aircraft with noise emissions no greater than 90 EPNdB (effective perceived noise decibels), such as a DHC8 or SF34.
A jet up to B737/A320 size, and only when there is a significant ground delay for a runway 27 departure.

High-capacity arrivals

Between 06:00 and 23:00, landing on 27 and 34 using land-and-hold-short operations (LAHSO), with departures on 27, is an equal-first mode. It may be used during peak arrival periods when significant airborne delays would otherwise occur. The aerodrome layout gives the runway 34 LAHSO landing distance.

Night: 23:00–06:00

Priority	Landing runway	Departure runway	Conditions and permitted alternatives
First	16	27	Subject to traffic, runway 34 landings are permitted for arrivals via ALAXO STAR. When a departing jet needs the longer runway, ATC may nominate the second-priority mode instead.
Second	27	27 and 34	Subject to traffic, runway 34 landings are permitted for arrivals via PORTS STAR through the south-west to ALAXO STAR. ATC may select this mode instead of first priority when a departing jet needs the longer runway.
Third	27	27	No additional condition is printed for this row.
Fourth	34 or 16	34 or 16	No additional condition is printed for this row.
Fifth	09	09	Runway 09 itself has equal-first landing preference but the lowest departure preference; see below.

The day/evening combination of landing on 09 and departing on 16 is unavailable at night. A jet departing runway 16 between 23:00 and 06:00 must use the full runway length.

Runway 09 landing preference

Runway 09 is equal first priority for landing and lowest priority for takeoff. Its fifth-place entry in the tables is the combined landing-and-departure mode, not a fifth-place landing preference. Ad-hoc runway 09 landings may be available when suitable for overall traffic management. See preferred flight paths for populated-area heights, arrival routing and the night restriction for aircraft arriving from the south-east. Chart MMLNA01-183, revised 12 June 2025, from the fixed publication cycle effective 3 September 2026. Source: © Airservices Australia, Departure and Approach Procedures, MMLNA01-183.

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Melbourne preferred runways

Day and evening: 06:00–23:00

High-capacity arrivals

Night: 23:00–06:00

Runway 09 landing preference

​Day and evening: 06:00–23:00

​High-capacity arrivals

​Night: 23:00–06:00

​Runway 09 landing preference

Day and evening: 06:00–23:00

High-capacity arrivals

Night: 23:00–06:00

Runway 09 landing preference