Qantas Begins Cargo Flight Trials at New Western Sydney Airport with A321 Freighter
Badgerys Creek hub set to open in late July. Cargo flight trials have commenced at Australia's newest airport, Western Sydney, with the arrival of the first freighter — a converted Airbus A321 operated by Qantas. The twinjet (VH-XF5) flew from Sydney's main airport to touch down on the new facility's runway 23 on 13 July. "These trials are an integral part of ensuring that our systems, infrastructure and staff have been put through their paces in a live and controlled operating environment," says Western Sydney airport's chief, Simon Hickey. He says additional flights will be conducted over the next two weeks, ahead of the airport's formal inauguration of commercial freight services on 26 July. Passenger flights are scheduled to commence in October. Qantas Freight executive manager Igor Kwiatkowski says the new airport will become an important cargo hub for Australia. "This new 24-hour facility will provide greater flexibility for our freight network, helping us meet growing demand for e-commerce and next-day deliveries," he says. "The airport will increase Sydney's air cargo capacity helping us to move time-critical supplies around Australia and overseas." Companies including Dnata, Texel Air and Menzies Aviation will operate at the hub alongside Qantas Freight. Western Sydney is located in the region of Badgerys Creek, about 23nm (42km) west of the city's main international airport.