TRIAL RUN TESTS GROUND OPERATIONS AHEAD OF OCTOBER OPENING

A Jetstar A320 touched down at Western Sydney International, known as Nancy-Bird Walton Airport, at 9:30am on Tuesday 1 September, arriving from Melbourne on a trial flight run jointly with the WSI team eight weeks ahead of the airport’s opening. Jetstar will become the first airline to fly passengers from Western Sydney when flight JQ362 departs for the Gold Coast at 11am on Sunday 25 October 2026.

Jetstar Chief Pilot Tyrone Simes said flying the first service into a brand-new airport is a once-in-a-career moment. “Australia hasn’t opened a major new airport like this in more than 50 years, so this morning was a genuinely exciting milestone for me and the team. We’re doing this eight weeks out from the first flight deliberately. It gives us time to take what we learned today and build it into our procedures and crew briefings, ensuring everything is fully tested and refined well ahead of launch. Today’s flight was about getting to know the airport before we carry customers. Crew flew the arrival and departure exactly as they will in October, then worked through the ground side of the operation: the taxi route to the gate, lining up on the aerobridge, and the turnaround that gets the aircraft back out again. By the time we carry our first customers from Western Sydney, every element of this operation will be familiar to us, and we can’t wait to share that first flight with them.”

WSI Chief Operating Officer Matt Duffy said the airport’s operational preparation was progressing well, with trial activities on track in the final weeks leading up to the launch of passenger flights. “Today’s trial flight represents an important part of our ongoing Operational Readiness Program, which is all about preparing our staff, systems and processes to be as match-fit as possible when the airport opens for passengers next month,” he said. “We have utilised the unique opportunity we have as Australia’s first major greenfield domestic, international and cargo airport in more than 50 years to deliver a highly efficient, sustainable and future-proofed airport. It’s exciting to see that coming to life with these trials in a controlled operating environment before the first commercial flights take to the skies from WSI.”

A NEW ERA FOR AUSTRALIAN AVIATION

Western Sydney International, at Badgerys Creek, is widely reported as Australia’s first major new airport in more than fifty years and has been built at a reported cost of around $5.3 billion. From opening day, Jetstar will operate up to 14 flights a week between Western Sydney and Melbourne, daily flights to the Gold Coast, up from four a week following strong demand, and three flights a week to Brisbane, all flown by Airbus A320 aircraft. The extra Gold Coast flying alone is expected to bring around 135,000 seats to and from Western Sydney each year.