Five minutes from doors shut to takeoff at Western Sydney

Just five minutes after the cabin crew close the doors and cross check on passenger jets at the new Western Sydney International Airport, the plane will be in the air.

Exclusive: Just five minutes after cabin crew close the doors, jet passengers at the new Western Sydney International Airport will be in the air.

Sydney’s new international airport will also have the fastest connections for passengers and their baggage in Australia — with travellers getting off a domestic flight and on to an international one in under 60 minutes.

Ahead of The Daily Telegraph’s Bradfield Oration next week, Western Sydney International (WSI) Airport chief executive Simon Hickey said terminal design and the latest technology meant the taxi time from the departure gate to both ends of the runway was just five minutes.

“Because we have international and domestic under one roof we will have the fastest connection times on the eastern seaboard,” he said. “There is just a wall between the two.”

New technology including swing gates and a smart contactless baggage handling system underground will make the airport the “best customer experience” in Australia when it is completed in 2026, Mr Hickey said.

Multiplex project director Manos Sartzetakis, Western Sydney International Airport CEO Simon Hickey and senior community engagement officer Alissa Anastasio on the apron of the runway which is taking shape and due to open in 2026. Picture: Jonathan Ng

The swing gates are designed to speed up flow during times of high demand by opening glass partitions between lounges and gates in the domestic and international terminals.

For example, during peak domestic departures, some international gates can be switched to manage the increase in domestic demand.

Western Sydney International Airport terminal is taking shape and due to open in 2026. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Qantas has already signed up to base a fleet of 15 domestic narrow-bodied aircraft at the airport which will carry more than four million passengers on 25,000 flights in the first year.

The airport is also in well developed talks with Virgin Australia and international carriers.

Once the airport is open it will increase the number of peak-hour slots for aircraft flying into Sydney by 25 per cent.

The airport will also offer 24-hour landing times with no curfew and an advanced Instrument Landing System to allow aircraft to land and takeoff in virtual zero visibility.

Senior community engagement officer Alissa Anastasio at the retail sector inside the terminal. Picture: Jonathan Ng

“On opening, WSI will provide 20 more flights an hour in peak times into the Sydney Basin,” Mr Hickey said.

“This increase in flights gives Sydneysiders more choice and this competition puts downward pressure on airfares.”

Western Sydney International Airport is taking shape and due to open in 2026. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Mr Hickey said the airport was changing daily as 4000 workers beaver away on the terminal building and pouring asphalt on the runways.

Half of those workers are from Western Sydney.

“This is a legacy project for them, it is something they will tell their grandkids,” he said. “And those grandkids will live in a better world because of this airport.”

Alissa Anastasio, senior community engagement officer at the airport, lives at Luddenham and said there was a “great sense of excitement” in the local community.

“Western Sydney International Airport is a catalyst for Western Sydney’s transformation,” she said.

Multiplex terminal project director Manos Sartzetakis said the workers, particularly those who live in Western Sydney, were “invested” in the project.

“We are now more than halfway through construction and each day we see new elements and details emerge to create this world-class terminal,” he said.