Sydney's second airport opens today: Singapore Airlines flies in Nov. 23, but your ticket may say WSI

Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport opened to passengers on Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. The first commercial flight was a Jetstar service to the Gold Coast, scheduled for 11 a.m. local time, according to an opening guide published by the Canberra Times. It is Sydney's second major airport, and it is not close to the first.

Who flies there, and when

Only domestic flights and one international route are running in week one. Dates below come from the Canberra Times guide and the Wego opening guide, which agree with each other:

• Jetstar: four flights a week to the Gold Coast, 14 to Melbourne and three to Brisbane, on Airbus A320s, from Oct. 25.
• Air New Zealand: three flights a week to Auckland from Oct. 26, the first international service.
• Singapore Airlines: daily Singapore flights from Nov. 23 on the A350-900. The MileLion reported the schedule in March, and Wego says it is subject to regulatory approval.
• Qatar Airways: flights via Doha from December, per the Canberra Times.
• Vietjet: two weekly flights to Ho Chi Minh City from January 2027.
• Fiji Airways: three flights a week to Nadi from March 19, 2027.
• Qantas: four flights a week each to Melbourne and Brisbane on QantasLink jets from March 28, 2027.

Virgin Australia has not committed to flying from the airport, the Canberra Times reported. No US carrier is listed, so an American traveler reaches Western Sydney only on a connection through Singapore, Doha, Auckland or another hub.

What it means for a traveler

Check the airport code before you pay. The new airport is WSI. The old one is SYD (Kingsford Smith). Both are sold as "Sydney" on many booking sites, and a cheap fare may land you far from the harbor and the hotels. Wego advises comparing the ground trip from each airport to your actual address.

Ground transport is thin on day one. The airport is reached by the toll-free M12 motorway. A free shuttle runs every 30 minutes to St Marys station, from 4:30 a.m. to midnight Sunday to Thursday and to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday. The Canberra Times quoted travel-industry body ATIA calling the lack of a rail link at opening a "missed opportunity." Wego says the airport metro is scheduled for 2027.

Fares are not a bargain yet. The Canberra Times reported that some passengers on the first Jetstar flight paid more than A$800 for two tickets, and that early Qantas fares to Melbourne were under half the price from Kingsford Smith. That is early-schedule pricing on a few routes, not a trend, and we did not find a published fare comparison for US-origin trips.

What to do

• If you are booking Sydney for the holidays, read the arrival airport on the itinerary, not the city name.
• If your onward connection is a domestic hop, confirm both legs use the same airport.
• Allow extra transfer time at WSI until the metro opens, and price a ride-share or shuttle into the trip cost.
• Singapore Airlines flights are still subject to approval, so keep a flexible fare for a late-November trip.

See also our 2027 travel cost guide and more travel news.

Sources: Canberra Times (ACM), Wego Travel Blog, The MileLion. Schedules were published before opening and can change; confirm with the airline. This is travel information, not advice.