Western Sydney Airport a lesson for NZ in how to invest, airline group says

Members of the public and officials watch a NSW Rural Fire Service 737 air tanker, which made the first jet aircraft landing at Western Sydney (Nancy-Bird Walton) International Airport. Photo / David Gray, AFP

Western Sydney Airport had its first jet landing yesterday.

The airport is set to host Air New Zealand from mid-2027 and is a lesson in how to invest, according to Board of Airline Representatives (Barnz) executive director Cath O’Brien.

She said the Australian Government was a significant investor in building the airport.

Nancy-Bird Walton and fellow aviation pioneer Charles Kingsford Smith with a de Havilland DH.60 Moth. Their legacy continues in the names of two Sydney airports. Photo / Ernest Alfred Crome, National Library of Australia

“They’re really intentional, whereas in New Zealand ... Government does not invest in airport infrastructure. It’s all user-pays over here.”

A Federal Government-owned company called Western Sydney Airport Co Limited was established in 2017 to run the airport.

In that year’s Federal budget, the Government committed up to A$5.3 billion ($6.03b) to the project.

Construction started in September 2018.

In June this year, Air New Zealand became the first transtasman airline to sign an agreement with the airport.

It is expected to fly to the airport from mid-2027.

Jetstar, Qantas, Qantas Freight, ground handlers Menzies Aviation and Singapore Airlines have also signed up.

“There’s a big population base over in Western Sydney, so it kind of makes sense,” O’Brien said.

The airport will be named after Nancy-Bird Walton, an aviation pioneer nicknamed the “Angel of the Outback”.

Sydney’s existing international airport is named after Walton’s former teacher Charles Kingsford Smith.

But Kingsford Smith is close to the city, with little room to expand, and is subject to night flight bans, whereas Western Sydney (WSI) will be a 24-hour airport.

“The challenge you’ve got with Sydney at the moment is its curfew constraints,” O’Brien said.

“The new airport will allow some more capacity.”

The WSI site covers 1780ha, whereas Kingsford Smith covers 907ha.

A multi-agency emergency exercise on the WSI runway yesterday. Photo / David Gray, AFP

A rural fire service 737 twinjet landed on the WSI runway yesterday as part of simulations and emergency protocol testing.

The rural fire service said the jet could deliver more than 15,000 litres of water, dumping the entire load in 2.2 seconds.

It was the first large air tanker (LAT) to be available for firefighting year-round.

The rural fire service said the aircraft could be configured to carry 72 firefighters.

Today at the airport, frontline agencies were carrying out exercises and tests for passenger welfare and crisis management.

This year, Air New Zealand said its WSI route would complement existing services into Kingsford Smith.

WSI will have international, domestic, and cargo operations.

It is expected to open in the second half of 2026.

Initially, it would have one runway and an integrated international and domestic terminal.

A second runway is expected to be developed in about 2050.

The airport is in Badgerys Creek, about 40km by road from Parramatta and about 62km from Sydney CBD.

John Weekes is a business journalist covering aviation and courts. He has previously covered consumer affairs, crime, politics and courts.

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