Western Sydney Airport’s first overseas passengers mistake location for Perth
Western Sydney International Airport welcomed its first overseas arrivals on Monday, but some passengers were confused about where they had landed. One holiday-maker from Auckland mistook “Western Sydney” for Western Australia and said he had meant to travel to Perth, highlighting the potential for mix-ups as the new airport opens.
Another passenger arriving from Melbourne said she had not recognised the airport name on her boarding pass and had parked her car at Sydney Airport. A bus and free shuttle link the new airport with St Marys station, but she estimated it would take two hours to reach her car. The new terminal cost $5.6 billion; seven airlines have signed up, with Singapore Airlines due to begin daily Singapore flights on 23 November.
In short
- A passenger bound for Perth landed in Western Sydney by mistake.
- Another traveller had left her car at Sydney Airport.
- The $5.6 billion terminal has seven airlines signed up.
Explained simply
Sydney has long been served by Kingsford Smith Airport, near the city centre. Western Sydney International is a new airport in the city’s west, designed to serve the growing population there and add capacity for air travel to the wider region.
The airport is in Badgerys Creek, well away from central Sydney and Perth, which is on Australia’s west coast. Its name refers to the western part of Sydney, not Western Australia. Airlines and passengers need to distinguish it from Sydney’s existing airport when arranging flights and journeys to and from the airport.
The new terminal is a major transport project, and airlines are beginning to add services there. Its links with trains and other transport matter because passengers may need to travel between the airport and other parts of Sydney.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Confused passengers arrive at Australia’s newest airport as holiday-maker admits: ‘I’m meant to be in Perth’”.