kabarsula Which airport ranked as the least convenient with parking costs jumping 42%? bandar SLOT INDONESIA

Melbourne Airport has ranked last among 11 major Australian airports for convenience, with average weekly parking costs climbing 42 per cent year on year to $412 – the largest increase in the study and the highest price recorded.

iSelect’s 2026 Airport Convenience Index compared the airports on parking costs, transport costs, distance from the CBD, passenger numbers and parking availability. Melbourne scored 2.44 out of 10.

Cairns took out the top spot with 7.78, followed by Darwin (7.11) and Canberra (6.56). Cairns benefited from being just 5.7km from the city centre, the shortest distance in the index, and recorded no change in either parking or transport costs.

Brisbane ranked second-last (3.11) and the Gold Coast third-last (3.67). Brisbane recorded the highest combined public transport and taxi cost at $48.03, while the Gold Coast posted the biggest passenger growth of any airport, up 8 per cent to around 17,682 a day.

Eight of the 11 airports recorded a rise in parking costs. Perth recorded the second-largest increase at 16 per cent, followed by Adelaide at 13 per cent, the Gold Coast at 9 per cent, Townsville at 8 per cent and Brisbane at 7 per cent. Sydney was the only airport where parking costs fell, down 6 per cent, although its $323 average remains the second-highest in the study.

Western Sydney International

The newly opened Western Sydney International Airport was not included in the index due to a lack of comparable data, but iSelect provided an early comparison. Average weekly parking is $179.75, well below Sydney Airport’s $323, and the airport has more than 6,000 car parks.

However, it sits about 60km from the Sydney CBD, compared with 11.8km for Sydney Airport. The average taxi and shuttle cost from the CBD was $111, against $31.53 for the options assessed for Sydney Airport.

Passenger numbers

Passenger numbers rose at most airports. Brisbane was up 5 per cent, while Darwin, Perth and Adelaide each rose 4 per cent. Cairns and Canberra both fell 1 per cent. Sydney remains the busiest at about 117,386 passengers a day, ahead of Melbourne (100,722) and Brisbane (68,257).

iSelect general manager, general insurance Adrian Bennett said travellers could compare the cost of pre-booking airport parking with taxis, rideshare and public transport rather than deciding on the day.

“Holiday costs can quickly add up; it can be worth thinking about the journey to the airport before departure day,” he said.