New masterplan reveals 200 flights and 23,000 passengers a day at WSI

Western Sydney’s new airport will kick off with almost 200 flights bringing in 23,000 passengers and 800 tonnes of cargo every day, a new Preliminary Draft Masterplan reveals.

Western Sydney’s new airport will take off with almost 200 flights bringing in 23,000 passengers and 800 tonnes of cargo on average every day of the year by 2030.

The projections are included in the airport’s Preliminary Draft Master Plan which has been released today and shows Sydney’s only 24-hour airport should double those figures by 2050.

Western Sydney International (WSI) chief executive Simon Hickey said the plan showed that the airport would lead to $96 billion more investment in NSW by 2063.

“WSI will provide much needed additional capacity to meet increasing aviation demand in the Sydney Basin, which is expected to double between 2019 and 2050,” he said.

“Western Sydney – the nation’s cultural heartland and Australia’s fastest growing population – will benefit especially from WSI’s entry into their previously under served market.”

The plan says that 41 per cent of Western Sydney’s 2.2 million people were born overseas and predicts those people will drive demand for flights to India, China and Vietnam.

It’s predicted Western Sydney International Airport will have 200 flights a day.

“We anticipate strong demand from Western Sydney’s communities who regularly visit family and friends overseas – most notably the large diasporas of Indian, Chinese, Thai, New Zealand and Pacific Islander, Vietnamese, European and Middle Eastern residents,” Mr Hickey said.

By 2030 the airport expects to see 5.4 million passengers flying domestically and three million flying internationally on 60,000 flights a year. Although Mr Hickey said those figures could be conservative.

“While the projections demonstrate a gradual but strong start for a new international airport, recent additional airport demand modelling suggests more rapid growth in the early years of operations.

“This would mean demand may come forward up to two years so WSI would reach 10 MAP closer to 2030, which is great news for Western Sydney,” he said.

By 2045 the plan predicts passenger flights will have doubled to 120,000 and passenger numbers to almost 20 million.

By 2030 the airport will see almost 5,000 international and 4000 domestic cargo flights. Picture: Brendan Radke

The airport is also on track to become a major cargo hub with almost 300,000 tonnes of freight expected to be moved through the airport by 2030. That figure is expected to reach almost 550,000 tonnes by 2045.

“Our around-the-clock operational capacity and strategic location in the middle of the Melbourne-Sydney-Brisbane ‘golden triangle’ mean WSI will become – and remain – the largest gateway for domestic and international cargo in Australia,” Mr Hickey said.

By 2030 the airport will see almost 5,000 international and 4000 domestic cargo flights.

“These forecasts are outstanding news for businesses and customers. It means fresh food from our farmers will reach global markets more efficiently, customers will receive their e-commerce goods more swiftly, and businesses transporting everything from medical supplies to luxury items or general mail will reach new markets.”

Originally published as New masterplan reveals 200 flights and 23,000 passengers a day at WSI