A passenger aircraft landed on the brand new runway at the new Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport (WSI) for the first time ahead of its official opening in 2026.
In a statement, the Government of New South Wales said the landing represents an “important milestone” for the airport.
The aircraft, a 30-year-old Boeing 737-3H4, operated by Coulson Aviation for the NSW Rural Fire Service, completed historic flight BMBR210 over Western Sydney on the morning of October 28, 2025. Aviation fans gathered to see it land shortly after 08:00 local time.
History made at WSI today ✈️
A 737 jet landed on our runway for the first time, kicking off a full-scale emergency exercise with 300+ volunteers, emergency services and federal agencies. A #MajorMilestone for Sydney’s only 24-hour airport – every test gets us closer to welcoming… pic.twitter.com/wGWNZqInG4— Western Sydney International Airport (@WSIAirport_) October 28, 2025
“A lot of hard work has led up to this moment, from the earlier days of construction to now rigorous testing to become operationally ready,” said Catherine King, the Minister of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government of Australia. “This project has taken decades of planning, created thousands of jobs and millions of hours of work.”
Preparing the airport for operations
According to information from Flightradar24, the aircraft, registered as N138CG, took off from Richmond Airport (XRH) at 08:23, flew a 32-kilometer circuit near the airport, and landed at 08:38.
The flight was part of a two-day emergency response training exercise, involving over 300 volunteers and emergency services personnel from various NSW agencies, including the NSW Rural Fire Service, alongside federal agencies including Airservices, the Australian Federal Police and Australian Border Force.
The exercise aimed to evaluate the airport’s “preparedness, response and recovery capabilities”, ensuring it meets the certification requirements ahead of the ongoing trial program as the countdown to its opening in the second half of 2026 continues.
There will also be the first multiagency emergency exercise held as part of the ongoing testing process ahead of the airport’s opening, a full-scale aerodrome emergency response to a simulated aircraft incident, the NSW government statement continued.
New airport, new opportunities
According to Jihad Dib, the NSW Minister for Emergency Services, the new Western Sydney International Airport “is the beginning of many years of showcasing south-western Sydney to the world”.
This is the first major new airport in Australia in more than 50 years, and the NSW government has invested AU$5.6 billion (US$3.68 billion) in it so far. Once fully operational, the airport is anticipated to generate thousands of new jobs, in addition to the 12,224 jobs it has already created.
WSI Airport was built to accommodate international, domestic, and cargo flights, with airlines like Qantas, Jetstar, Singapore Airlines, and Air New Zealand already signed on to fly from it.
Located in Western Sydney, WSI is positioned within Australia’s third largest economy. The region is growing 20 times faster than the rest of Sydney.
