Australia’s newest airport, Western Sydney International Airport, is on track to open its doors to passengers by the end of 2026.
With the construction of its roof recently completed, work on Sydney’s second hub airport can now focus on interior finishings and final touches in time for the planned opening.
Catherine King, Australia’s infrastructure and transport minister, stated the airport has now reached 80 per cent completion.
She said: “This is a great milestone to be able to celebrate alongside the construction staff and commissioning staff at Western Sydney International Airport.
“There’s been 100 workers working to put this roof onto this terminal over the last 18 months.
“You can start to see the shape, the design and the experience that passengers are going to have.”
More than 6,000 solar panels are set to be included to the airport’s roof to aid overall power generation.
King added that construction of the airport has helped spur employment in the local area as many of the workers involved are Western Sydney locals.
The airport has also sourced much of its steel from domestic manufacturers, fabricated in places such as Adelaide, Whyalla, Tamworth and Orange.
Simon Hickey, CEO of Western Sydney International Airport, stated that testing of the airport’s operational functions can begin from mid-2025.
He said: “From mid-next year, we’ll take all of the assets across the airport and we go into operational readiness and testing, including all of the different agencies that will work together so that we’re actually fit and ready for the first passengers to arrive in 2026.”
Katy Gallagher, Australia’s finance minister, added: “This transformational project is attracting billions of dollars worth of investment into Western Sydney, which is our nation’s third-largest economy and one of the fastest growing regions in the country.
Gallagher claimed the airport’s future operations will hugely benefit the local population with the possible creation of thousands of more jobs.
Once open, the 24-hour airport will initially operate domestic flights served by Qantas and Jetstar.
