MELBOURNE—IATA has assigned airport code WSI to the new Western Sydney International Airport, as the facility prepares to enter service by late-2026.
Australia’s Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Catherine King says the airport is 40% complete and that airside, landside and terminal construction is expected to reach its peak later in 2023.
Also known as Nancy Bird-Walton airport, WSI will be capable of handling 10 million passengers annually. When completed, WSI will also handle all of the freight currently processed at Sydney Kingsford Airport (SYD), as well as domestic and international passenger operations.
In an interview with local radio ABC Sydney, King added that the government is looking at the flight paths around WSI, which may cross Blue Mountains National Park.
“It’s taken my department a bit longer than we had anticipated to get some of that right. They’ve had trouble accessing some of the simulation machines that they needed to actually test some of the flight paths,” King said, without providing details on the issue of simulation. “In order for the airport to open in 2026, there’s a big regulatory process of approval around the flight path.” King is hopeful information will be available for the public in 2023.
The airport has a 3,700 m (12,000 ft.) runway, but the Ministry for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development said there are plans to a build a second runway once demand reaches 37 million annually by 2050. The airport is also expected to be capable of handling approximately 82 million passengers a year by around 2063.
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