Western Sydney International Airport Opens Its Doors to Passengers

Western Sydney International Airport (WSI), located at Badgerys Creek some 45 kilometres from Sydney's CBD, opened to passengers on Sunday following a decades-long effort to bring the project to life. The historic first service was Jetstar flight JQ362, which lifted off just before 11:30 am bound for the Gold Coast. A return Jetstar service from the Gold Coast is scheduled to arrive at 3 pm, followed by the first departure to Melbourne at 6 pm.

Unlike Sydney's Mascot terminals, WSI runs around the clock with no curfew. The airport had already been handling cargo since July.

CEO Simon Hickey described the day as "a massive milestone" and "a generational change to aviation." Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declared WSI "Australia's best airport without question," and Federal Infrastructure and Transport Minister Catherine King praised the perseverance required to build such a large project.

Around 10,000 workers helped construct WSI, with roughly half drawn from Western Sydney. The current terminal is comparable in size to Adelaide Airport, which handles about 10 million passengers a year — a level WSI expects to approach by the early to mid-2030s. Up to 8,500 jobs are projected to support operations by that point. With additional terminals and a second runway, Mr Hickey said WSI is designed to reach a full capacity of 82 million passengers per year in the 2060s — a figure that compares to London Heathrow, which welcomed over 84 million passengers in 2025.