Qatar Airways has committed to flying to Western Sydney International from late next year, making it the fifth foreign carrier to serve Australia’s newest airport.
Qatar will operate three flights a week between WSI and Hamad International Airport in Doha from the end of 2027, it said in a statement on Wednesday. The carrier, which is Virgin Australia’s international partner airline, plans to increase that frequency to daily services by the end of 2028.
“With the airport operating around the clock, we will bring more international visitors to NSW,” Qatar boss Hamad Al Khater said in the statement.
WSI has secured international connections with Qatar, Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines, Vietjet and Fiji Airways. Qantas and Jetstar offer domestic flights from Western Sydney, with the latter operating the first commercial flight ever from Australia’s newest airport on Sunday, October 25.
Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Catherine King said that “through connection to Doha, one of the busiest airports in the world by international passengers, travellers from Western Sydney can board a second leg to any corner of the globe.”
Flying the Boeing 777 300ER, the Qatar flights from Doha will arrive at WSI at 11.45pm, with the return service departing WSI at 4.10pm the following day, arriving at the Doha hub at 11pm.
In May, the government gave permission to Qatar for seven services per week through the new airport. WSI drew on its International Take-Off Fund, a $16 million fund jointly backed by airport and the NSW state government, to help support Qatar’s launch.
University of Sydney aviation professor Rico Merkert said Qatar’s late launch date for WSI flights suggested the Middle Eastern airline wanted to give the new airport some time to get up and running before it started flying there.
“They probably want to give the airport a bit of time to grow so that they have a better chance of tapping into that catchment area and filling their planes,” he said, noting that the 777 is “a fairly large aircraft” with 354 seats.
“The other thing is the geopolitical situation around the Middle East,” which is still leading to travellers avoiding the region, he said, with local companies recommending staff don’t fly through the Persian Gulf region, where Qatar is located.
While DFAT has lowered the Smartraveller rating on Qatar and the UAE, attacks in Saudi Arabia have prompted fresh travel warnings.
Overall, the announcement is “good for the airport from a passenger and logistics perspective,” said Merkert.
WSI boss Simon Hickey said Qatar’s announcement meant travellers would have “access to more than 250 destinations around the globe within the first 14 months of the airport’s launch, which is a strong start for Australia’s first major greenfield international airport in more than five decades.” Tickets for the Qatar flights will go on sale in December.
The Market Recap newsletter is a wrap of the day’s trading. Get it each weekday afternoon.