Western Sydney International Airport will open to passengers on Sunday 25 October, with a Jetstar flight to the Gold Coast at 11am set to be its first commercial passenger flight, Time Out reported.
Officially named Nancy-Bird Walton Airport, it is the first new international airport built in Australia in more than 50 years, according to SBS News. It sits at Luddenham, near Badgerys Creek, about 45km from the Sydney CBD.
Airlines and Routes
From launch, Jetstar will run up to 14 flights a week to Melbourne, four a week to the Gold Coast and three a week to Brisbane, according to Time Out.
Air New Zealand will be the first international airline at the airport, flying to Auckland three times a week from Monday 26 October. Singapore Airlines will follow on 23 November with daily flights to Singapore, Time Out reported.
More carriers are planned for 2027. Vietjet is due to fly to Ho Chi Minh City from January, Fiji Airways to Nadi from 19 March and Qantas to Brisbane and Melbourne from 28 March, with Qatar Airways expected to start flights to Doha from December 2027, according to Time Out. SBS News reported that seven airlines have committed to fly from the airport.
Jetstar Asia, another part of the Qantas group’s budget business, took a different path in 2025, when Qantas grounded Jetstar Asia.
Open Around the Clock
Unlike Kingsford Smith, Sydney’s existing airport, where a curfew runs from 11pm to 6am, the new airport will operate without an overnight curfew, SBS News reported.
It will be able to handle up to 10 million passengers a year at opening, and operators forecast it could eventually handle 82 million, according to SBS News. The opening capacity is about an eighth of that long-term figure.
Named for Nancy-Bird Walton
The terminal carries a large artwork tribute to Nancy-Bird Walton above the domestic departure gates, and the air traffic control tower is named Walton Tower, ABC News reported.
Walton gained her commercial licence at 19 and flew medical services from Bourke for the Royal Far West Children’s Health Scheme. She founded the Australian Women Pilots’ Association in 1950 and died on 13 January 2009, aged 93, according to the ABC.
“Nancy-Bird Walton’s story is one of courage, curiosity, and determination, and one that continues to inspire all Australians to this day,” WSI chief executive Simon Hickey said, ABC News reported.
Her grandson, Baron Walton, said: “I think one of her greatest impacts is being a visual example, to women in Australia, of what was possible.”
A WSI spokesperson, as quoted by Time Out, said the airport “doesn’t just acknowledge country, but celebrates country”, and spoke of “embracing the opportunity to share the stories of the oldest continuous culture on earth with millions of travellers.”
Getting There Before the Metro
Until the Sydney Metro line to St Marys opens, passengers will rely on roads and buses, SBS News reported.
A free shuttle will run to St Marys, and express shuttles will link the airport with Parramatta, the Sydney CBD and Sydney Airport. Express coaches, public buses, taxis and rideshare will also be available.
State buses will run to Penrith, Liverpool, Campbelltown, Mount Druitt and Leppington. Drivers can reach the airport on the toll-free M12 Motorway, and there are about 6,000 parking spaces, according to SBS News.
Sydney’s road building has had its own cost pressures, including a $209 million budget blowout on major motorway projects reported in 2025.
More transport reporting is in Buzzline’s Transport & Infrastructure section.
Sources: SBS News, “Western Sydney International Airport: Flights, transport and everything you need to know”, 22 October 2026 (https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/western-sydney-international-airport-what-to-know/kwbjrmldm); Time Out Sydney, “Sydney’s new international airport is opening this weekend”, 22 October 2026 (https://www.timeout.com/sydney/news/sydneys-huge-new-international-airport-is-opening-this-weekend-102226); ABC News, “Nancy-Bird Walton honoured as Western Sydney International Airport opens to passengers”, 23 October 2026 (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-23/nancy-bird-walton-western-sydney-international-airport/107289382)
Photo: Helitak430, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Kangaroos bound across open grassland in front of the Western Sydney International terminal in July 2026, three months before passengers arrive.
