Western Sydney International (WSI) is officially open. The Nancy-Bird Walton Airport took its first passengers on Sunday, October 25, 2026, on the Cumberland Plain at Badgerys Creek, about 27 miles west of Sydney's central business district, and it is Australia's first major new airport in more than 50 years. Domestic and international gates sit under one roof, the terminal runs 24 hours a day, and it opens with capacity for up to 10 million passengers a year.
Jetstar's JQ362, an Airbus A320neo bound for the Gold Coast, lifted off just after 11:20 local time with 188 passengers on board and crowds lining the runway to watch it go. Those seats sold out in 45 minutes to aviation fans who wanted a place on the first flight out of the new airport. Flight trackers showed it as the most tracked flight in the world while it was in the air. It flew west, banked toward the coast over Tamworth and crossed the state before landing right on time at Coolangatta, where a second crowd lined the runway to meet it. JQ363 came back from the Gold Coast as the first passenger arrival, a Jetstar Melbourne service followed Sunday evening, and the airline will run 24 return flights a week from the new terminal.
Sydney's existing airport at Mascot is positioned between Botany Bay and the suburbs with no room to expand, while WSI sits on open land in the city's outer west with space to add runways and terminals over time and grow toward 80 million passengers a year, a ceiling in the range of London Heathrow and nearly double what Mascot handled at its pre-pandemic peak.
Zaha Hadid Architects and COX Architecture designed the terminal, with Woods Bagot on the design team. The airport is owned and developed by WSA Co, while Multiplex built the terminal. Construction ran eight years, from the groundbreaking in September 2018 to opening day. WSI is the first Australian airport to open with a fully digital arrivals declaration. The federal government's Australia Travel Declaration lets international passengers submit customs, immigration, and biosecurity information electronically before they land, instead of filling out the paper Incoming Passenger Card.
One Circular Quay is nearing completion on the harbor, and Harbourside Residences is rising now on Darling Harbour. Sydney House is set to deliver in 2027 in the CBD, and Blackwattle Bay in Pyrmont is expected to deliver in 2033.