After 15 years of planning and nearly eight years of construction, Western Sydney Airport is almost ready to welcome its first passengers.
Officials announced this week that Sydney’s second international airport will open to the public on Oct. 25. Cargo operations will start earlier, in July.
Western Sydney Airport, also referred to as Nancy-Bird Walton Airport, is located in Luddenham and Badgerys Creek, about 30 miles west of downtown Sydney. It will supplement Sydney Airport, the busiest airport in Australia and the main hub for flag carrier Qantas.
So far, four airlines – Qantas, Jetstar, Singapore Airlines, and Air New Zealand – have announced plans to operate from the new airport.
Jetstar will operate the first flight out of Western Sydney Airport on Oct. 25, bound for Gold Coast, Queensland. The low-cost carrier will operate up to 14 flights per week between Western Sydney and Melbourne, four flights per week to the Gold Coast, and three flights per week to Brisbane.
Air New Zealand will start service that same month, on Oct. 26, with three weekly flights to Auckland.
On Nov. 23, Singapore Airlines will commence daily flights to Changi Airport in Singapore.
Qantas will offer flights to Brisbane and Melbourne starting in March 2027.
Australian officials debated building a second international airport in Sydney for decades. The federal government selected the site for Western Sydney Airport in 2014, and construction on the main facilities began in 2018.
