Western Sydney airport opens for passenger flights
Jetstar’s inaugural Gold Coast service is sold out, with Melbourne departures also starting on 25 October 2026.
Western Sydney International Airport began welcoming passengers on 25 October 2026, ahead of its first commercial departure: Jetstar’s JQ362 to the Gold Coast, scheduled for 11am.
Every seat on the inaugural flight has been sold. The opening marks Australia’s first passenger service from a newly built major airport in more than 50 years.
JQ363, the returning Gold Coast flight, is scheduled to land at 3pm, while the airport’s first Melbourne departure is set for 6pm. The Badgerys Creek facility operates 24/7 and is 45 kilometres from Sydney’s CBD. It began handling cargo in July.
Chief executive Simon Hickey said the terminal could accommodate about 10 million passengers a year, but traffic would only begin approaching that level in the early to mid 2030s.
Hickey said operations throughout the precinct would require up to 8,500 jobs when annual passenger traffic reached 10 million in the 2030s. Construction involved about 10,000 workers, approximately half drawn from Western Sydney, he said.
Artworks commissioned from local Indigenous artists decorate the terminal. They include Barayabinyang, or Songbirds, sculptures by Dharug and Darkinjung artist Adam Laws in the external forecourt.
