Western Sydney International Airport (WSI) has conducted flight path testing as part of continuing preparations for its opening next year.
A twin-engine Cessna Conquest, VH-VEY, was used for test flights to ensure safe and accurate approach procedures, as well as to verify that obstacles such as trees, towers and buildings are correctly marked on charts for safe navigation.
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According to WSI chief operating officer Matt Duffy, the tests, which will take place before the first aircraft lands at the airport next week, are another important step towards the start of operations in mid-to-late 2026.
“Decades of planning, years of construction and millions of hours of work have brought us to this exciting time where we are essentially activating all of the various systems and services at WSI and putting these new assets through their paces,” he said.
“In this next phase, our WSI team will test the dozens of technology systems and assets that our airport will depend on 24 hours a day each day and, more importantly, also test the resiliency of those systems.
“Ongoing training of staff is also a key part of the program – allowing them to develop their skills and experience in a safe and controlled environment so that they are equipped to respond effectively to various simulated scenarios.”
This month’s preparations have been hailed by Federal Transport Minister Catherine King as a “watershed day” for WSI.
“We have a Cessna testing the flight routes. The Civil Aviation Safety Agency, CASA, is supervising those tests. We have the baggage handling system being tested,” he said in the Today show.
“Next week we will see a 737 also testing the flight routes and there will be an emergency operation, a test there also of all the fire services and other emergency procedures.
“So there is a lot of testing going on to get this airport operational – the first cargo in the middle of next year, the first passengers at the end of next year. It’s almost there.”
It comes as the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) 737 large air tanker, N138CG “Marie Bashir”, will take part in a large-scale multi-agency airfield emergency exercise on 28-29 October, including a simulated aerial incident.
Airport operational staff, along with 300 volunteers and emergency services partners from the RFS, NSW Police Force and NSW Fire and Rescue, plus federal agencies including the Australian Federal Police, Australian Border Force and Airservices Australia, will take part in the exercise.
WSI saw its first “official” aircraft land late last year, and in October 2024 a light aircraft performed test flights for the airfield’s ground lighting system.
