Arabic version: مطار غرب سيدني الدولي يبدأ رحلات الركاب

According to ABC News, Western Sydney International Airport (WSI) has officially opened to passengers, marking the start of commercial services at the Badgerys Creek airport. The first commercial passenger flight, Jetstar JQ362, is scheduled to depart for the Gold Coast at 11am. The sold-out service will be the first from a major new Australian airport in more than 50 years.

Jetstar flight JQ363 is due to arrive at WSI from the Gold Coast at 3pm, followed by the airport’s first departure to Melbourne at 6pm. Located 45 kilometres from Sydney’s CBD and 18 kilometres from Penrith’s city centre, the airport operates around the clock, unlike Sydney’s Mascot terminals. WSI had already opened for cargo operations in July.

WSI chief executive Simon Hickey called the passenger opening a “massive milestone” and “a generational change to aviation”. He said the terminal was designed for future growth and is about the size of Adelaide Airport, which handles about 10 million annual passengers. WSI expects to move closer to that level in the early to mid-2030s.

The airport projects that, with additional terminals and another runway, it could eventually reach its full capacity of 82 million passengers a year in the 2060s. Hickey said that in just over 12 months, passengers would be able to connect to more than 250 destinations.

About 10,000 workers helped build WSI, with approximately half coming from Western Sydney, Hickey said. The airport estimates up to 8,500 jobs will be needed across the precinct when it reaches 10 million annual passengers in the 2030s. The terminal also features commissioned works by Indigenous artists from Western Sydney, including Dharug and Darkinjung artist Adam Laws’ Barayabinyang, or Songbirds, sculptures in the external forecourt.