Opening-day preparations are well underway at Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport (WSI) with the ramp-up of its operational readiness program, which will see ongoing trials carried out across the terminal and broader precinct over the months ahead.
At the same time, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) is conducting flight path safety checks at WSI.
These involve a light plane – a twin-engine Cessna Conquest – carrying out test flights to ensure the airport’s approach procedures are safe and accurate, before the plane lands on the runway.
The flight checks will also allow CASA to confirm that obstacles are accurately marked on charts to ensure infrastructure like towers, masts or buildings or environmental factors like trees can be safely navigated by aircraft coming in to land at WSI.
“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,” said Matt Duffy, WSI Chief Operating Officer.
“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.”
Mr Duffy said the test flights were also an excellent demonstration of the airport’s close collaboration with critical agencies that will support WSI’s operations when it begins welcoming passengers in the second half of 2026.
“The CASA safety checks are an important part of the airport’s ongoing aerodrome certification requirements and comes after WSI welcomed its first plane on the runway in October 2024, which tested the airfield lighting systems,” he said.
A planned emergency exercise set to take place this week will see the first 737 land on the runway, as well as hundreds of emergency service personnel and federal agencies take part in a staged aircraft incident.
