Sydney’s new Western Sydney International Airport opens to passengers
Jetstar’s first passenger flight departed for the Gold Coast on 25 October. International connections will be added in stages under the announced schedule.
Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport welcomed its first passengers on Sunday 25 October 2026. Reuters reports the opening, while today’s report from Australian broadcaster SBS confirms that the first commercial passenger flight, operated by Jetstar to the Gold Coast, departed shortly before noon local time.
From announcement to passenger operations
The date is not a new announcement: it was set in the joint government release of 10 June. Airservices Australia also confirmed passenger operations would commence on 25 October. Today’s development is the actual arrival of passengers and first departure.
The new airport operates without an overnight flight curfew. The Australian government puts its initial capacity at up to 10 million passengers annually; this is capacity, rather than traffic already recorded.
Routes starting in stages
The government’s schedule provides for Air New Zealand flights to Auckland from 26 October and a daily Singapore Airlines connection to Singapore from 23 November. These are announced start dates; they do not mean that all international routes are already operating on opening day.
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