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Western Sydney International Airport (WSI) has scored a major coup less than a week from opening, with Qatar Airways set to fly to the new gateway starting late next year.
From 15 December 2027, the Gulf carrier will operate three 777-300ER flights per week between WSI and Doha, expanding to daily flights by the end of 2028. Flights will arrive into WSI at 11:45pm, departing for Doha at 4:10pm the following day.
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Qatar Airways will be WSI’s seventh airline and fifth international carrier, after QantasLink, Jetstar, Singapore Airways, Air New Zealand, Vietjet, and Fiji Airways. It comes as the first passenger flights are set to take off from the new airport on Sunday, 25 October.
“With just four days to go until we welcome our first passengers, I’m excited to announce that Qatar Airways is bringing its 5-Star service to Western Sydney International, ensuring travellers will be able to connect world-wide via the airline’s top-tier Doha hub,” said WSI CEO Simon Hickey.
“What’s more, with the addition of this premium carrier alongside WSI’s existing airline partners, our customers will be able to enjoy access to more than 250 destinations around the globe within the first 14 months of the airport’s launch, which is a strong start for Australia’s first major greenfield international airport in more than five decades.
“The timing of the service utilises one of WSI’s key competitive advantages – its 24-hour capacity – which will connect our global city in new and unprecedented ways, increasing choice, flexibility and opportunity, for business, airlines and their customers.”
Qatar Airways Group CEO Hamad Al Khater said the new route is “the next chapter in [the airline’s] long-standing partnership with Australia”.
“The new route will link Western Sydney directly with Doha and, through Hamad International Airport, with more than 170 destinations across the Middle East, Africa, Europe and beyond, strengthening existing ties and creating new opportunities for trade, tourism and investment between Australia, Qatar and the wider world,” he said.
“With the airport operating around the clock, we will bring more international visitors to New South Wales, offer Australian travellers the premium Qatar Airways experience from a second Sydney gateway, and give exporters across the state a direct cargo route to customers in the Gulf and beyond.”
The route was enabled through the NSW Government’s $16 million Western Sydney International Take-Off Fund, which NSW Tourism Minister Steve Kamper said is “forecast to attract more than 162,000 international visitors to NSW and generate an estimated $530 million in visitor expenditure”.
“The best way to grow our visitor economy is to get more people into Australia. Securing this new Qatar Airways route is a major win for NSW tourism, local businesses and jobs,” he said.
“Direct flights make it easier for visitors to discover everything NSW has to offer, while creating new opportunities for businesses across Sydney and our state.
“The Minns Labor Government is backing Western Sydney International to become a major gateway to the world, helping attract more visitors, strengthen our global connections and grow NSW’s visitor economy.”
The Federal Government in May signed new bilateral air service agreements with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, allowing for seven extra weekly services each through WSI.
Federal Transport Minister Catherine King said Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines will offer “improved access to all corners of the globe” from Western Sydney.
“Through connection to Doha, one of the busiest airports in the world by international passengers, travellers from Western Sydney can board a second leg to any corner of the globe,” she said.
“This is a truly exciting announcement, and it means that via Doha, or Singapore, Western Sydney International is truly the runway to the world.”
Tickets from Western Sydney to Doha will go on sale starting 19 December this year.
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says:It seems odd that Qatar would leave an aircraft on the tarmac for over 16 hours.