Melbourne Airport has announced its third runway will be subject to a period of further technical consultation with government, airlines and regulatory bodies.
The approval will be revealed following a detailed review of the proposed east-west alignment with the consultation extending through to the second half of 2019.
Melbourne Airport managing director and chief executive officer, Lyell Strambi said: “Due to a number of factors which have changed over time, we have undertaken a planning review over the last six months to assess whether east-west remains the preferred option for the third runway that we announced in 2013.
“Our review provides strong evidence to suggest the north-south parallel could now provide a superior outcome in terms of availability, capacity, long-term investment profile and community impacts.
“It is important to be clear that at this stage there has been no decision to change the direction of the runway. Instead, we will enter a period of technical consultation with our airline customers, the federal government, regulatory bodies and other stakeholders to inform our final decision.”