REVEALED: Western Sydney Airport Flight Paths [2024 Update]

Preliminary Western Sydney Airport flight paths have officially been revealed, nearly five years after construction began.

Western Sydney International Airport (to be located in Badgerys Creek) will be the first NSW airport without a curfew. Aircraft will be taking off and landing 24/7.

Costing $5.3 billion, the Airport is expected to launch in late 2026. It will have an impressive capacity of up to 10 million passengers with around 81,000 air traffic movements annually by the year 2033.

The release of the Airport’s flight paths has been a long time coming, with members of industry and the community keeping a watchful eye on all government announcements.

Western Sydney Airport flight paths revealed

In June 2023, preliminary flight paths for Western Sydney Airport were finally revealed.

We previously discussed the release of the Airport’s indicative flight paths, published in the Airport’s 2016 Environmental Impact Statement.

The following flight paths have now been publically revealed:

Aircraft will take off from two runways.

Runway 05 – aircraft will arrive from the south-west of the city and depart to the north-east (as can be seen above).

Runway 23 – aircraft will arrive from the north-east during the day and depart to the south-west (as can be seen below).

There is a third runway operation plan in the works. This is planned to be be used at night (when demand for services is lower). It is hoped to minimise the impact of noise across Western Sydney suburbs.

Western Sydney Airport Flight EIS 2023 reveals further details

In October 2023, the Federal Government released their draft Environmental Impact Statement for Western Sydney Airport.

The statement released the government’s proposed policy for insulation to help properties that would become significantly affected by aircraft noise.

However, if that policy does not prove effective, then the government says it may consider acquisition of those properties on a case-by-case basis.

Day routes

The following maps for Runway 05 and Runway 23 revealed Western Sydney Airport day flight paths in detail, with D1, D2 etc. constituting the different departure routes and A1, A2, etc. revealing the various arrival routes.

The day routes will fly from 5.30am to 11pm.

Night routes

The following maps for Runway 05 and Runway 23 revealed Western Sydney Airport night flight paths in detail as well.

The night routes will fly from 11pm to 5.30am.

Which suburbs will be affected by Western Sydney Airport?

People who live in and around the suburb of Greendale in Western Sydney will be worst affected when Runway 23 is used. Greendale is expected to experience 20 to 49 flights going above 70 decibels over 24 hours. By the year 2033, Greendale residents will hear 10 to 19 flights per night exceeding 60 decibels.

The following suburbs are all predicted to experience flights above 70 decibels during the day:

• Luddenham
• Badgerys Creek
• Erskine Park

When Runway 05 is used, Erskine Park is expected to be one of the worst affected.

The following suburbs are expected to experience some flight noise, but not as loud:

• Springwood
• Rossmore
• Parramatta
• St Marys
• Marsden Park
• Kellyville
• Liverpool

You can use the government’s online interactive tool to search an address and see the impact of the noise.

Which airlines will use Western Sydney Airport?

So far, Australian airlines Qantas and Jetstar have signed up to operate at Western Sydney Airport. Both carriers will operate domestic flights.

Routes will include flights to Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

The carriers reported that 10 Jetstar and five Qantas narrow-body planes will be assigned to the airport, carrying 4 million passengers a year.

Impact of Western Sydney Airport flight routes on existing flight paths

The release of the draft EIS in October 2023 revealed a set of proposed revised flight paths for existing airports, including Sydney Airport, Camden Airport, Bankstown Airport and RAAF Richmond.

Flight paths for all these airports will be amended to accommodate the new flights coming in and out of Western Sydney Airport.

As you can see in the maps below, flight paths from Sydney Airport (Runway 25 and 34L) are proposed to move from the current spread-out arrangements to a “centre line” approach.

The flights will track to the west before turning towards the north, east and south as the route requires.

You can read more in Chapter 8 of the Draft EIS.

Feedback requested on the Western Sydney Airport Draft EIS – deadline 31 January 2024

Anybody within industry or within the community who has comments or concerns about the proposed flight path changes can submit feedback on the draft EIS.

Feedback will be open until 31 January 2024 and can be submitted through www.wsiflightpaths.gov.au.