PM cuts ribbon on new Western Sydney International Airport

Australia has a new global gateway*, with construction of the new Western Sydney International Airport now complete.

Images of the ultra-modern, government-owned airport were released on Wednesday ahead of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese arriving to “cut the ribbon*” following a traditional Welcome to Country.

Trial flights will take place in the coming months and the $5.3 billion airport will become fully operational in late 2026.

“This is a major benefit for Western Sydney, including the more than 11,000 people who worked to construct this magnificent* new airport, more than half of whom were locals here,” the PM said.

Air New Zealand was announced as a new partner airline at the press event.

“If we talk about tourism and access here, including from Air New Zealand, what we’ll see is the people coming into here, visiting the Blue Mountains, visiting all that Western Sydney has to offer as well,” Mr Albanese said.

He added that the facility would create jobs and economic activity and would be “a plus for the region”.

“I’ve been a long-term advocate* for it,” Mr Albanese said. “Overwhelmingly, this airport is embraced by the people of Western Sydney because they know that it will bring enormous benefits, as well as the infrastructure* that has come with this airport, with new rail lines, new roads, new businesses, new jobs being created here.”

Photos of the new terminal show sunlight flooding through spectacular two-storey windows facing the runway.

The terminal entrance has been designed to look like a grand “Australian veranda”.

Much of the airport has been designed to be “Instagram-able” and the operator has spruiked its art gallery aesthetic*.

About 5km of conveyor belts* can sort and distribute up to 2000 bags per hour.

On the roof, nearly 9000 solar panels will help power the 1700ha site, which is twice the size of Sydney’s other international airport at Mascot.

All the buildings that travellers will use have now been finished.

Construction work on the cargo area and a fire station are ongoing.

In addition to Air New Zealand, Qantas, Jetstar and Singapore Airlines have also committed to using the facility.

The airport’s chief executive Simon Hickey told The Australian he was hopeful Virgin Australia would sign on as well.

Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport has curfew* hours barring planes over the high density* area and Western Sydney’s 24-hour window was a key selling point to the airlines.

In 2026, five million passengers are expected to pass through the airport.

By 2031, operators aim to accommodate 10 million passengers per year.

Long-term targets have 82 million people travelling through the airport each year by 2063.

“This project is on time and on budget and gearing up to open in 2026,” federal Infrastructure* Minister Catherine King said on Tuesday.

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GLOSSARY

• cut the ribbon: sometimes meant literally, it’s also an expression for officially declaring an event or venue open
• magnificent: spectacular, glorious, impressive, greatly admirable and beautiful
• advocate: someone who publicly supports or suggests an idea, development or way of doing something
• infrastructure: essential facilities and systems like transport, buildings, water, schools and hospitals, power supplies
• aesthetic: relating to the enjoyment or study of beauty
• conveyor belt: a continuous moving strip or surface used to move objects from one part of a building to another
• curfew: an official regulation restricting operation or movement, especially after a specific time at night
• high density: having a high concentration of something relative to size, in this case houses and people living near the Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport

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QUICK QUIZ

1. How much did the Western Sydney International Airport cost to build?
2. When will it be fully operational?
3. The terminal entrance has been designed to resemble a giant example of what?
4. How many solar roof panels will help power the site?
5. How many bags can the conveyor belts sort and distribute in an hour?

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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Set up a business!
If you could set up a new business in or near the new Western Sydney International Airport, what would it be and why do you think it would be successful?

Time: allow at least 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Personal and Social Capability, Economics and Business Studies

2. Extension
The new Western Sydney International Airport can sort and distribute up to 2000 bags per hour. Design a system or procedure that would make sure that no bag would never get lost.

Time: allow at least 40 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Design and Technologies

VCOP ACTIVITY
Read with Kung Fu punctuation
Pair up with the article between you and stand up to make it easy to demonstrate your Kung Fu punctuation.

Practise reading one sentence at a time. Now read it again, while acting out the punctuation as you read.

Read and act three sentences before swapping with your partner.

Take two turns each.

Now ask your partner to read a sentence out loud while you try and act out the punctuation. Can you keep up? Swap over?

Try acting out two sentences – are you laughing yet?