First international flight departs Western Sydney International Airport

Mixed · 2The first international flight left Western Sydney International Airport (WSI) on Monday 26 October. An Air New Zealand plane from Auckland landed and flew out again in the morning. 1 2 Centre · 1The Air New Zealand route will run three flights a week. Air New Zealand's chief operations officer Kate Boyer said: "It's not every day you get to be part of opening a brand-new international airport." 1 Centre · 1The single-runway airport began domestic passenger flights on Sunday and freight operations in July. CNA describes it as Australia's first new major aviation hub in more than five decades, and as the first alternative to Kingsford Smith, the main airport, which has operated for more than a century. 1

Mixed · 2Jetstar is the main domestic carrier, flying to the Gold Coast, Melbourne and Brisbane. ABC reports that seven carriers have signed up to use WSI. 1 2 Mixed · 2The airport says more international carriers are coming: Fiji Airways from March 2027, Vietjet Air from January 2027 and Qatar Airways from December 2027. ABC adds that flights to Singapore are due to start soon. 1 2 Centre · 1Airport chief executive Simon Hickey said the airport's 24-hour operations give airlines more flexibility. Kingsford Smith, which handled more than 42 million passengers last year, is 9km from the city centre and has a night curfew on passenger aircraft. WSI has no such restriction. 1

Centre · 1Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the airport a "wonderful new chapter" for Australia. He said it would bring jobs and investment to western Sydney, an area of more than 2.5 million people. 1 Left · 1Sydney's new status as a two-airport city has confused some travellers. Swedish tourist Julie Lundmark flew Jetstar JQ373 from Melbourne and found it landed at WSI rather than Sydney Airport. She said she had googled the "west airport" name on her boarding pass days earlier and was directed to the main airport. Her car was parked at Sydney Airport, which she said was two hours away. A passenger off Air New Zealand flight NZ165 from Auckland said he had confused Western Sydney with Western Australia and thought he was heading to Perth, though he took it in good humour. 2 Mixed · 2There is no rail link yet. A metro service from St Marys was not finished before opening, so buses and a free shuttle to the station are the main public transport options. CNA says a direct rail link is not expected until at least December 2027. 2 1

Mixed · 2The two outlets give different construction costs. CNA reports A$5.3 billion, excluding surrounding transport works. ABC gives both "$5.6 million" and "$5.6 billion" in the same article. 1 2