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Western Sydney Airport could become Sydney’s primary gateway, supplanting Kingsford Smith, its CEO has said.
Speaking to media at the launch of international flights on Monday, WSI CEO Simon Hickey said the new airport is expected to reach its current maximum capacity of 10 million annual passengers within the next decade, with plans to expand as needed.
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“Ultimately, we are designed to be the primary airport of Sydney. This is where the population centre is, but importantly, that’s because we’ve had 40 years of land use planning as well,” he said.
“So, as we grow, we’ve ensured that there is not a big residential build-up at the end of our runways, and so that’s actually protected that growth here at Western Sydney International.
“We’ve done it thoughtfully. We’ve done it over a long time. This airport’s been a long time coming, but we’ve thought about not just today. We’ve thought about what does the future century look like as well, and we will build into that and grow with our community.”
According to Hickey, while the airport is “starting small”, it will continue to grow and has plenty of room to expand.
“This airport at the moment is about the same size as Adelaide Airport, which is about 10 million annual passengers. We’ll get to about 10 million, we estimate in the early to mid-2030s, and so that’s the first stage,” he said.
“After that, we can expand the terminal on this side, and we’ve actually designed the airport so that we can effectively and efficiently design to grow up to 82 million annual passengers. To give you an idea, that’s the size of Heathrow Airport today.
“So, we’re actually an airport that’s built for the next century. We can continue to grow in line with demand. We know the population is going to continue to grow, and we know that actually the eyes of Sydney are moving west.
“Already, more than 50 per cent of people in Sydney live in Western Sydney, and over the next decade, that’s going to grow by another million. So, we’re on the rise. We’re already the third largest economy in Australia, just Western Sydney, and so the future looks bright.”
Hickey told Australian Aviation that he expects WSI to “compete really effectively” with Kingsford Smith, being easier to reach for Western Sydney locals.
“We’re closer for a large percentage of the population, and we’re their local airport, right? So people are going to choose local, and they’re going to go through here,” he said.
“I think we’ve got pretty good destinations already. So, 250 plus destinations, just over a year away.
“We don’t need to compete on every facet with Sydney Airport. They’re Australia’s largest airport today. We’re just the new kid on the block, so we’ll punch above our weight, and we’ll be a great competitor.”
Kingsford Smith Airport’s master plan was approved in August, and will see the two domestic terminals linked into a single precinct.
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