While we see airports open new terminals pretty frequently, it’s not often we see a new international airport open altogether. After all, airports require a lot of vacant land, and that can be tough to find near large popular centers.
Along those lines, Sydney will be getting a second major airport in a couple of years, and in this post, I wanted to take a closer look at what we know so far. This is a good time to do so, given that we’ve also just learned the first international airline that intends to fly to the airport.
In this post:
What is Western Sydney Airport?
Western Sydney Airport (WSI) is expected to open in late 2026, providing an overdue alternative to Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD). Here are some of the key things to be aware of about the new airport, which is coming at a cost of $5.3 billion AUD:
- The airport will be located 27 miles (44 kilometers) from the Sydney CBD, within the suburbs of Luddenham and Badgerys Creek, with a rail connection to Sydney
- The airport will have a runway of over 12,000 feet, so it’ll be able to accommodate any commercial aircraft in service, including the Airbus A380
- The airport won’t have a curfew, so operations will be possible 24/7, unlike at Sydney’s existing airport, which has a curfew from 11PM until 6AM
- The airport will initially have a single terminal and a single runway with the capacity to handle 10 million passengers per year, but there are plans for it to eventually be expanded to the point that it could have four terminals and two runways, accommodating up to 82 million passengers annually
- The idea behind the airport is that Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport is nearing capacity, and there’s also a population of a few million people west of Sydney, so this would be a convenient airport for them
Which airlines will fly to Western Sydney Airport?
With Western Sydney Airport a bit over two years from opening, which airlines plan to fly there? Qantas and Jetstar have already committed to offering domestic flights from the airport. The plan is for Qantas to base five jets there, and for low cost subsidiary Jetstar to base 10 jets there. I imagine Virgin Australia will fly to the airport as well, but just hasn’t made a final decision yet.
But what about international flights? Well, that’s where there’s an exciting update. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Singapore Airlines is the first airline to commit to operating international flights to the airport, and plans to launch flights as of late 2026. Presumably this will complement the carrier’s up to five daily flights to Sydney’s other airport, some of which are operated by A380s.
It’s not yet known with what frequency Singapore Airlines will fly to the airport, what the schedule will look like, and what plane the airline will use.
I imagine we’ll see a good number of international airlines operate flights to Western Sydney Airport, though there will definitely be some tradeoffs here. A few thoughts:
- There’s efficiency to operating from a single airport in terms of staffing, irregular operations, connectivity, and more, so I imagine some airlines will avoid splitting operations between the two airports
- I imagine the lack of a curfew will be very appealing to some Gulf carriers, given that they currently operate some flights that push up against the curfew in Sydney
- With Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport expected to be at capacity in several years, at some point airlines won’t have a choice but to fly to Western Sydney Airport
Bottom line
We’re not that far off from Western Sydney Airport opening, and it should bring some much needed airport competition to the region. The airport will open in late 2026, initially handling up to 10 million passengers per year. However, the airport has the potential to get massive over the years, with the goal of eventually serving up to 82 million passengers annually.
When it comes to airlines, we know that Qantas and Jetstar plan to fly to the airport, and we also now know that Singapore Airlines plans to be the first international airline at the airport. I’m curious to see what other airlines announce similar plans in the near future.
What do you make of Western Sydney Airport, and how popular do you think it’ll be with foreign carriers?
International arriving passengers with their heavy bags will find it challenging to hop onto a metro and then change transport mode to a suburban train at St. Mary's. Even departing international passengers will have the same challenge in the opposite direction of travel.
Domestic & passengers from NZ will find it frustrating to travel on public transport for 2 hours to different parts of city; after their short flight of 1 to 3 hours.
ME...
International arriving passengers with their heavy bags will find it challenging to hop onto a metro and then change transport mode to a suburban train at St. Mary's. Even departing international passengers will have the same challenge in the opposite direction of travel.
Domestic & passengers from NZ will find it frustrating to travel on public transport for 2 hours to different parts of city; after their short flight of 1 to 3 hours.
ME carries (Emirates, Qatar and Etihad) will be in a difficult position as majority of their premium customers come from City, Inner West and Northern suburbs. However, most of their economy travellers come from Western Suburbs. This situation makes planning extremely difficult and challenging for 3 ME carriers.
The only possibility that I see is for Freighter aircrafts; and other carriers including Garuda, Thai Airways, Malaysia Airlines, VietJet, Fiji Airways and Air India. This situation is unlikely to change for the next 10 years (Unit 2034).
It will be a functional airport with significantly lesser footfall.
Opening a brand new international airport with a single runway ... really?
Curious what equipment SQ will use on their SIN-WSI route. SQ currently uses only 77W and A380 on their SIN-SYD, which is quite uncommon for their Australia routes -- Perth only sees the 787-10 and MEL sees 3x A359 per day. My suspicion is that the use of the 77W is because of high business travel numbers, but since WSI is much further away from the CBD and more local-oriented, we might see the A359 regional or 787 deployed instead
Let's see if there is a ridiculous charge to get off the metro line at the airport.
SQ will halve their SYD offering, as often it has to delay the departure of redeyes due to the curfew. Btw. at this point only MEL doesn't have a train connection to the city amongst all major AU cities. As much as I love Melbourne, that is poor.
How will people get there if they don't have transport.l a taxi from Sydney international at the moment is around $100, and a Uber is $146.
Are any public transport links from the Bankstown line have a access via public transport
Where is the destination for the fares you are quoting? It's less than half from existing airport to downtown. Not sure why you mention Bankstown line. The new airport is nowhere near that
This is a LIE. where the heck are you going? Noosa?....I have never paid that much for a taxi ever the most I've paid is $35 living around Darling Harbour.
I imagine one big benefit will be delayed incoming flights will have another option to land without breaking curfew or diverting to CBR.
Demands for a curfew from disgruntled residents will start the day the first jet flight arrives. Our Third World status is safe.
The site for WSI was announced in 1986. Nobody can complain they didn't know the noise was coming.
And jet engine isn't as loud as 1986 I don't see the curfew being lifted anytime soon.
I don't think that would stop them!
Stupid to assume new airport isn't subject to curfews.
NIMBY everywhere.
Singapore Airlines would definitely add a ~midnight flight out to give later option and to connect into it's morning longhaul to London and regional flying , something that isn't currently possible without a long overnight layover
100% agree - their current latest SYD-SIN is 1900 which arrives into Singapore just after midnight.
Can totally see them launch a midnight departure (same as MEL) arriving roughly ~0500 into SIN for connections and business travelers who need the morning arrival. This shouldn’t really come as a surprise
John Xiberras
WSI will be an absolute success,
Central to popular tourist destinations,
Unlimited space (land) for expansion,
No curfew,
Extremely good transport connection to the Airport,
Western Sydney has a large multicultural population, who love to travel.
WSI will be Sydneys No 1 International Airport
It’ll be great sure but not that exciting…
The only rail connection WSI will have doesn’t go into the city and instead takes you north, dropping you off at St. Marys, a residential suburb with not much happening and still a whole hour away by train or car from the city itself. From there, it’s a general suburban commuter train into the city, The aerotropolis they are building near the airport on that train line...
It’ll be great sure but not that exciting…
The only rail connection WSI will have doesn’t go into the city and instead takes you north, dropping you off at St. Marys, a residential suburb with not much happening and still a whole hour away by train or car from the city itself. From there, it’s a general suburban commuter train into the city, The aerotropolis they are building near the airport on that train line will be great for locals, not so much for tourists.
As for tourist attractions, unless the average tourist hops off the plane straight onto a bus to Canberra or the Blue Mountains, not much near the new airport either. All of Sydney’s iconic tourist sights are in the CBD, which is less than 10km away from our current airport, and more than 40km and 1.5+hrs from the western sydney one.
Western Sydney does have a large and growing population, so the airport will succeed no doubt. However, I see this becoming a case of Haneda vs. Narita, with more premium airlines aiming to keep their flagship routes at SYD for the convenience, accessibility and prestige, whilst WSI will have its use as an airport for (1) overflow from SYD, (2) lower cost operations and (3) to serve the Western Sydney outbound market.
I don’t see many tourists preferring WSI to the convenience of SYD, 15 minutes away from the CBD.
The current train trip from Sydney's CBD to/from SYD is easy. The new airport won't be. If you are connecting in Sydney, you have hourly (or near so) flights to capital cities. I love a new airport, but don't see this being an option for flights from the US. BTW, MEL is the airport if your trip requires a connection to a domestic flight in BNE, SYD, or MEL. However, connecting in AKL for ADL or PER is a nice choice, too.
The new airport will have a metro connection to the city from day 1.
Istanbul airport take note!! It has taken 5 years for a semblance of a rail connection to appear and they're still building it.
The new airport will be aimed at those living in or travelling to Western Sydney and Parrammatta, not those travelling to Sydney CBD.
This reflects Sydney's geography = it can't grow any further to the East, North, or South, due to sea, terrain, and National Parks. Therefore, it has been expanding further and further West, meaning the Wetsren half of the city is now a very long way from the airport at Botany Bay.
In general I don’t trust a single timeline with respect to this airport. They were planning this airport since the early 90’s where it was still expected to be a white elephant. I also have little hope that it will stay a 24/7 airport once it is up and running
Whichever Chinese and Indian carriers can reach there, most likely will fly there if permissible.
I believe popular destinations to and from WSI will include NZ, Bali, Thailand, South Pacific Islands (Tonga, Samoa etc) and SE Asian destinations perhaps.
SQ, CX, NZ, TG or Low cost carriers Vietjet, Air Asia, Batik etc I imagine operating there.
I see it as a great opportunity for new domestic routes as well but do really look...
Whichever Chinese and Indian carriers can reach there, most likely will fly there if permissible.
I believe popular destinations to and from WSI will include NZ, Bali, Thailand, South Pacific Islands (Tonga, Samoa etc) and SE Asian destinations perhaps.
SQ, CX, NZ, TG or Low cost carriers Vietjet, Air Asia, Batik etc I imagine operating there.
I see it as a great opportunity for new domestic routes as well but do really look forward to hopefully more direct options to inaugural(or returns) to Asian destinations that are now only served with stops in places like SIN, KUL, HKG
I see CX more than likely, but the question is will they be granted more rights as they are maxed out, or just move one of their services from SYD? Either way, they're on the top of my list.
As for the airport itself, I just love the addition of wood and lush greenery.
Top of my list as well -- hopefully CX is granted more rights. Would love to see a bit more from the ME3 as well to optimize for ME3 banks but again unclear if they have the rights for that to happen