Sydney’s new $4 billion airport set to open with barely any flights

Western Sydney International Airport has attracted only a handful of airlines and has half a dozen or fewer scheduled flights a day for the next 12 months. | REUTERS

Oct 19, 2026

After more than half a century of political procrastination, environmental protests and funding shortfalls, Sydney finally has a second airport. But the new 5.6 billion Australian dollar ($4 billion) site’s commercial prospects are already in question.

Western Sydney International, 50 kilometers inland from the city center, will handle its first passenger flight on Sunday — a Jetstar service to the Gold Coast. But the facility has attracted only a handful of airlines and has half a dozen or fewer scheduled flights a day for the next 12 months, according to aviation data company Cirium.

Australia’s biggest aviation infrastructure development in decades is opening just as the global travel industry endures its toughest period since the COVID-19 pandemic. Around the world, airlines are sounding the alarm on rising fuel costs and fares as the war in Iran drags on. Many, including dominant Australian carrier Qantas Airways, are cutting back on domestic capacity rather than laying on more flights.

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