Jetstar flights lock in date for opening of Sydney’s new airport

Sydney’s new $6 billion international airport will open to passengers on October 25 after Jetstar locked in the date for its first flights to the Gold Coast, Brisbane and Melbourne.

After prolonged negotiations with Western Sydney Airport, Qantas’ budget offshoot confirmed it will operate up to 14 flights a week between the new curfew-free hub and Melbourne, four to the Gold Coast and three to Brisbane.

The airline’s first flight from the airport will take off at 11am on Sunday, October 25, bound for the Gold Coast using an A320 aircraft.

Qantas and Jetstar are the last of Western Sydney Airport’s launch airlines to reveal the start of their flights to the new hub after Air New Zealand and Singapore Airlines set the beginning of their international flights for October 26 and November 23 respectively.

Qantas will not begin flying from the new airport until March 28, 2027, deploying smaller planes. The premium airline will run four flights a week between Melbourne and Brisbane, using the QantasLink Embraer E190. The Embraer has a seat capacity of 94 compared to the A320s, which carry up to 186 passengers.

These flights will “grow the overall number of flights to the Sydney basin”, according to Qantas. They are in addition to existing services to Kingsford Smith Airport.

Qantas Group chief executive Vanessa Hudson said the airline was “excited by the potential” of the new airport to spur local tourism and make aviation more accessible for millions of people in western Sydney.

“Jetstar has an incredible history of growing new markets, and being the first airline to launch will give one of the country’s fastest growing regions better access to low fares,” she said.

The Jetstar flights will have a one-way economy launch fare of between $59 and $75. One-way flights between Western Sydney and Melbourne will be launched for $69. Qantas launch fares will be from $99 one way, economy, and $299 business.

Western Sydney Airport chief executive Simon Hickey said the domestic fare offering was “another vote of confidence” in the new competitor despite global conflict challenging the aviation industry.

Jetstar’s move will open a new front of competition with Virgin Australia, which serves value-conscious flyers across the East Coast capitals. Virgin has yet to commit to operating out of the new airport.

After eight years of construction and commissioning, the launch of flights to the new airport on the western outskirts of the city near Luddenham will end the privately operated Kingsford Smith Airport’s long-held monopoly.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pai