Tuesday, November 03, 2026
Travel

Western Sydney International opens: how to get to Sydney's new airport

Rive News Research Desk

Published · 5 min read

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Key takeaways

  • Sydney's new Western Sydney International Airport opened to passengers on Sunday 25 October 2026. It has no night curfew and runs 24 hours a day.
  • There is no direct train yet. Take the free WSI Link shuttle from St Marys station, or one of five new bus routes from western Sydney suburbs.
  • Driving is easy on the new toll-free M12 motorway. Launch parking starts at A$15 a day for long-stay, and runs until April 2027.
The passenger forecourt of Western Sydney International Airport at dusk
The passenger forecourt of Western Sydney International Airport at duskPhotograph: Rob.auImage: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Sydney has a new airport. Western Sydney International opened to passengers on Sunday 25 October 2026. And the question on everyone's mind is simple: how do you actually get there?

What happened

The first commercial flight was Jetstar JQ362 to the Gold Coast. It took off around 11:20am on Sunday and was fully booked, according to VisaVerge.

The next day brought the first international passengers. Air New Zealand flight NZ165 landed from Auckland at 7.28am on Monday. The return flight, NZ166, left about 90 minutes later with a full cabin.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the opening a milestone decades in the making. Australia has not opened a major new airport in more than 50 years, he said in a statement reported by Reuters.

The airport's full name is Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport. It sits at Badgerys Creek, about 45 kilometres west of the Sydney CBD. The project cost A$5.6 billion, or about US$3.94 billion, according to Reuters.

Building it took seven years and more than 13,000 workers, according to VisaVerge. The runway is 3.7 kilometres long. Cargo flights started there in July, three months before passengers.

How to get there

By shuttle and bus

Here is the key fact: there is no direct train to the airport yet. The free WSI Link shuttle fills the gap. It runs between the terminal and St Marys station every 30 minutes.

The shuttle starts at 4:30am. It runs until midnight from Sunday to Thursday, and until 1am on Friday and Saturday. It is free.

Five new bus routes serve the terminal, according to Transport for NSW figures reported by Zagdim. Route 772 runs from Mount Druitt via St Clair. Route 790 runs from Penrith via Kingswood.

Route 825 runs from Liverpool via Bonnyrigg. Route 845 runs from Campbelltown via Oran Park. Route 860 runs from Liverpool via Leppington.

All five run every 30 minutes, from 5am to 10pm, seven days a week. You pay with an Opal card or a contactless card. From the CBD, take a train to St Marys and change to the free shuttle.

By car

Driving is the simplest option for many people. The new M12 motorway links the airport to the Sydney motorway network. It opened in March 2026 and it is toll-free.

There are more than 6,000 parking spaces. Launch rates run until April 2027. Long-stay parking starts at A$15 a day, with a free shuttle bus to the terminal.

Saver parking starts at A$29 a day, about a 2 to 3 minute walk away. Premium covered parking starts at A$49 a day. There is also a free 15-minute express zone for drop-offs and pick-ups.

Taxi ranks sit outside the terminal, and so do rideshare pick-up zones. There is no fixed taxi fare to the city yet, so the meter must run. If you worry about taxi costs, ask the driver for a rough estimate first.

An Australia Post A321 cargo jet at Western Sydney Airport
An Australia Post A321 cargo jet at Western Sydney AirportPhotograph: Helitak430Image: Wikimedia Commons (CC0)

Why it matters

The big difference is the clock. Sydney Airport at Mascot bans most take-offs and landings between 11pm and 6am. Western Sydney International has no curfew at all.

That opens up very early and very late flights. Jetstar is already using the airport for domestic hops. Budget airlines like Jetstar often add fees for extras, so check what your fare includes before you book.

For people in western Sydney, the airport is simply closer. A long trip across the city to Mascot is no longer needed. One passenger, James Irwin, drove 22 minutes to the new terminal and paid A$24 for a day of parking, according to VisaVerge.

His trip to the old airport took about 55 minutes and cost around A$15 in tolls. The whole trip can still take a while from the city.

Expect 60 to 90 minutes by shuttle and train. Long travel days eat phone battery, so pack a charger.

The old airport will keep running. It still handles most international flights for now. WSI will grow over time as more airlines sign on.

What happens next

More airlines are coming. Singapore Airlines starts daily flights from 23 November 2026. Qantas begins four weekly flights each to Brisbane and Melbourne from 28 March 2027.

Ho Chi Minh City services are planned for January 2027. Fiji Airways starts Nadi flights in March 2027. Qatar Airways plans Doha flights from December 2027, three times a week.

The metro is also on the way. The 23-kilometre Sydney Metro Western Sydney Airport line will run from St Marys through the airport to Bradfield. It has six stations.

But there is no official opening date yet, so do not plan trips around it.

Before you fly, check one thing on your booking: does it say WSI or SYD? The two airports are far apart. Switching on the day is not realistic.

And if your flight lands after the last bus at 10pm, you will need a car, taxi or rideshare. The airport never sleeps, but the buses do.

TaggedWestern Sydney AirportWSISydney travelAustralian airports

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