Preparations for the opening of Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport (WSI) are well underway as the airport has begun to accelerate its operational readiness programme, with ongoing trials set to continue over the next few months.
In addition; the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has initiated a number of flight path safety checks at the airport, which involve a twin-engine Cessna Conquest carrying out test flights to ensure the airport’s approach procedures are both safe and accurate.
The checks also allow CASA to identify any potential issues with non-accurately marked obstacles on charts to ensure that any towers, masts, buildings or environmental factors can be safety navigated upon approach to WSI.
WSI Chief Operating Officer Matt Duffy said:Decades of planning, years of construction and millions of work hours have got us to this exciting moment where we’re essentially switching on all of the various systems and services at WSI and putting these brand-new assets through their paces.
This next phase will see our WSI team trial the dozens of technology systems and assets on which our 24-hour airport will rely each day and importantly, test the resilience of those systems as well.
The ongoing training of staff is also a key part of the program – it allows them to build their skills and experience in a safe, controlled environment so they’re equipped to respond effectively to various simulated scenarios.
Next week will also see the first 737 land on the new airport’s runway, as well as a staged aircraft incident aiming to provide training tests for local emergency service personnel and federal agencies.
Currently, the airport is scheduled to open for domestic, international and cargo services in the latter half of 2026.
