Second airport gives Sydney a chance to soar to new heights

October 25, 2026 — 5:00am

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All going well, flight JQ362 will depart Western Sydney International Airport bound for the Gold Coast at 11am. In the afternoon, JQ375 will land from Melbourne before it turns around and heads back south.

It is not the busiest schedule in the world, but the first commercial flights from the airport named after Nancy-Bird Walton mark a milestone worth celebrating. With the first passengers loading their bags and collecting their boarding passes, Australia gets its first new major airport in half a century and an eight-decade dream for Sydney will be realised.

The opening on Sunday means for first time an........

© The Sydney Morning Herald