It is the first state capital airport in Australia to do so.
This month more than 1.31 million seats will be available for international passengers to and from Melbourne Airport, which represents 101% of the 1.29 million seats available in 2019.
Melbourne Airport welcomed back Aircalin for the first time in more than three years with the airline resuming services between Melbourne and Noumea.
Aircalin will operate three flights per week from Melbourne to Noumea on new Airbus A320Neo aircraft.
Melbourne Airport CEO Lorie Argus said this is the culmination of years of hard work.
“It’s a credit to the team that two years after the Australian border reopened, we are the nation’s first airport to exceed pre-pandemic international capacity,” she said.
“This result was only made possible because of our close partnership with the Victorian government.”
“The return of Aircalin means we are back to our pre-pandemic level of 36 international airlines flying to Melbourne Airport.”
About 10% of Melbourne Airport’s current international capacity is being operated by new airlines or on new routes.