Ross Stitt previews the new Western Sydney international airport, being built from scratch, and about to turbocharge a part of Sydney already growing fast

Sydney is getting a brand-new airport. Built from scratch. Without the inconvenience and disruption caused by trying to simultaneously operate and enlarge an existing airport.

Its official name is Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport. Nancy-Bird Walton was a pioneering Australian aviatrix who got her commercial pilot’s licence at the age of 19 and was known for both her flying feats and her philanthropy.

Kiwis will be among the first travellers to experience WSI. Last month, Air New Zealand became the second international airline, and first trans-Tasman one, to sign up with the new airport. It has announced its intention to start flying there from 2027.

Construction on WSI began in 2018 and the airport is expected to open late next year. It will be ready to handle 10 million passengers a year from day one, with the ability to expand as growth requires. It will have the capacity to expand to 80 million passengers a year by 2060, at which time it will be Sydney’s primary airport.

The anticipated cost of WSI is around $5.3bn. The fact that everything will be brand new should ensure a first-class facility. The airport’s promotional materials promise ‘a terminal design that makes the passenger experience faster, easier and more reliable’ and ‘a world-class digital capability that helps airlines deliver flights on-time and above expectation’.

Architects involved in the design of the airport terminal include Zaha Hadid Architects and Cox Architecture.   

In 2024, approximately 1.26 million kiwis visited Australia and 1.2 million Australians visited NZ. New South Wales was the biggest destination for kiwis with most arriving through the existing Sydney airport. Or Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SKSA) to give it its full name.

Charles Kingsford Smith was another Australian aviation pioneer, best known for undertaking the first transpacific flight and the first flight from Australia to New Zealand. In an interesting twist, he ran the pilots’ school where Nancy-Bird Walton learnt to fly.

SKSA is the busiest airport in Australia, processing more than 41 million passengers in 2024. 25 million of those passengers were domestic and over 16 million international. (By comparison Auckland Airport served over 18 million passengers in 2024.)

The Sydney-Melbourne route is the fifth busiest domestic air route in the world with over 9.2 million seats in 2024. (Scheduled airline seats is the standard measure of air routes.) Australia’s busiest international route in 2024 was Sydney-Auckland with 1.6 million seats.

One obvious feature distinguishes SKSA from WSI – its location. SKSA is only about 8kms from the Sydney CBD. That’s remarkably close for a city the size of Sydney. And very convenient for many passengers, especially tourists looking to visit Sydney’s major tourist attractions.   

In contrast, WSI is located on the western fringe of Sydney. It sits in an area called Badgerys Creek, approximately 44 kilometers west of the Sydney CBD.

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SKSA is over a century old. It’s no longer on the outskirts of the city and a shortage of space limits its capacity to expand. Projected growth for Sydney will see rising demand for air traffic that SKSA cannot meet.

The capacity problem is exacerbated by SKSA’s curfew on aircraft operations between 11pm and 6am. That curfew is another consequence of the airport’s proximity to the heart of Sydney with its densely populated residential areas. This is a significant restriction for airlines operating long-haul routes.

The site of WSI is much larger than that of SKSA allowing for vital long-term growth. Crucially, WSI will not be subject to a curfew. That has upset some local residents but clearly not enough to override commercial considerations.       

WSI is being promoted by politicians as a ‘Western Sydney project’. Many kiwis may not fully appreciate that a distinct Western Sydney identity has emerged over the years as the city has expanded westward.

There’s even something called the ‘Western Sydney City Deal’. This is a partnership between the Australian and NSW governments and eight councils in Western Sydney that envisages the area developing in its own right as ‘a thriving future-focused city’.

There’s certainly growth. According to the WSI website, the population of Western Sydney grew 10% in the 2021 census compared to just 0.5% in the rest of Sydney. Direct access to this growth is seen as a major selling point by WSI. And it’s not just growth –   

Western Sydney has always had plenty to offer the world – from its deep First Nations heritage to its diverse and dynamic community spirit. … it’s the undeniable spirit of Western Sydney that makes us so proud to call it home. And what continues to shape an airport that doesn’t just embrace Sydney’s cultural heartland – but connects it to the world.

Of course, whatever you think of Western Sydney, WSI is a long way from some parts of Sydney and that will be an issue for many passengers travelling through it.  

A key component of the Western Sydney City Deal is a new $11 bn rail project to link WSI to the Sydney Metro system. It will open in 2026. There will also be a new toll-free motorway linking the airport to Sydney’s wider motorway network.  

Will WSI take off? So far four airlines have signed up – Air NZ, Singapore, Qantas, and Jetstar (a Qantas subsidiary).

Many passengers will prefer SKSA in the short term. Unsurprisingly, Air NZ has been clear to point out it will continue to run services through that airport. But Sydney’s continuing expansion will inevitably drive WSI’s success. How quickly will depend on flight schedules, ticket prices, and its transport links to greater Sydney.

*Ross Stitt is a freelance writer with a PhD in political science. He is a New Zealander based in Sydney. His articles are part of our 'Understanding Australia' series.