Sydney’s new Western Sydney International Airport opened to passengers on Sunday, October 25, 2026, giving Australia its first major new airport in more than 50 years.
The A$5.6 billion airport at Badgerys Creek, about 60 kilometres west of central Sydney, welcomed its first commercial passenger flights on Sunday morning, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese officially opening the facility.
Qantas budget carrier Jetstar operated the first outbound passenger flight, JQ362 to the Gold Coast, which departed on Sunday morning. The airport said an afternoon Jetstar service to Melbourne was also scheduled for opening day.
“For the first time in more than 50 years, Australia is opening a major new airport. It’s a milestone that has been decades in the making,” Albanese said in a statement. “I’m very proud to officially open it.”
A first flight decades in the making
Western Sydney International Airport, also known as Nancy-Bird Walton Airport, was completed in July 2025 after a seven-year build. Cargo flights began operating from the facility in July, ahead of Sunday’s start of passenger services.
The airport is Australia’s first major greenfield airport since Melbourne’s Tullamarine opened in 1970, according to Australian Associated Press. Its inaugural passenger flight sold out in 45 minutes, with aviation enthusiasts and western Sydney locals among those on board.
Albanese was joined at the opening by New South Wales Premier Chris Minns, federal and state MPs, former political leaders and aviation industry representatives. Former prime ministers Tony Abbott and Scott Morrison were among those present, according to local reports.
The airport sits on a 1,780-hectare site purchased by the federal government in the 1980s. It has been built to grow to more than 80 million passenger movements a year, with reports putting its starting capacity at up to 10 million passengers annually.
Open around the clock
One of the new airport’s biggest advantages is that it will operate 24 hours a day, with no overnight curfew.
Sydney’s existing main airport, Kingsford Smith Airport closer to the city centre, cannot host take-offs and landings between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. The new airport’s round-the-clock operation gives airlines far more scheduling flexibility, particularly for international services.
Reuters reported that the new airport gives airlines access to a fast-growing and ethnically diverse population centre in western Sydney, one of Australia’s fastest-growing regions.
“This airport will make a real difference for western Sydney, creating jobs, supporting local businesses and making it easier for people to travel for generations to come,” Albanese said at the opening.
Why western Sydney needed its own airport
For decades, residents of western Sydney have had to travel across the city to Kingsford Smith Airport to catch a flight. The new airport puts international and domestic travel far closer to home for millions of people in the west and nearby regional areas.
The project has also been pitched as an economic engine for the region, with the airport precinct expected to support jobs in aviation, logistics, hospitality and business services as passenger numbers grow.
Sunday’s opening marks the start of passenger operations rather than the end of the story. Airlines are expected to add routes and services over time as the airport builds its network, starting with domestic services and expanding from there.
What travellers should know
Passengers travelling from the new airport should check their booking carefully: flights depart from Western Sydney International Airport at Badgerys Creek, not from Sydney’s long-established Kingsford Smith Airport.
Travellers are advised to confirm their departure airport and terminal details with their airline before heading out, as the two Sydney airports are about an hour apart by road.
For Sydney, Sunday was a historic day all the same: after decades of debate, planning and construction, the city’s second major airport is finally open — and its first passengers are already in the air.