Sydney's second airport has only been open a couple of days, and travelers are already landing at it by mistake. Western Sydney International Airport opened on Sunday, and one of its first arrivals from Melbourne included a traveler from Sweden who thought she was flying into Sydney Airport, the city's main airport. Instead she landed about 44 kilometers west of the city, roughly two hours from where her car was parked, according to Australian broadcaster ABC.
She wasn't the only one confused. An Air New Zealand passenger in Auckland reportedly thought his flight to "Western Sydney" was headed to Western Australia, on the other side of the country, and only realized his mistake while boarding. He told ABC it wasn't the worst thing, since he was on holiday.
How to Tell the Two Airports Apart
The easiest check is the three-letter airport code on your booking and boarding pass. SYD is Sydney Airport, the one near the city center that most travelers know, about 8 kilometers south of downtown. WSI is the new Western Sydney International Airport, out near Penrith in the city's far west. Airline websites and apps can label both as "Sydney," so if you're booking a flight to Sydney anytime soon, it's worth looking twice before you pay.
Flying to Sydney · Check Your Code
Sydney Has Two Airports Now
Contrail
For now, few airlines fly to the new airport, so most trips to Sydney still land at SYD. Jetstar, Qantas' low-cost airline, runs flights from Western Sydney to Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast, and Air New Zealand flies there from Auckland three times a week. Singapore Airlines starts daily flights from Singapore on Nov. 23, and Fiji Airways, Qantas and Vietjet are due to follow next year.
If You End Up at the Wrong One
Getting between the two airports isn't quick. The train line to Western Sydney isn't open yet, so the main public transport option is a free shuttle bus to St Marys station, which runs every 30 minutes, then a train toward the city. A paid shuttle service, taxis and rideshares can also take you to the city center or straight to Sydney Airport, but expect a long ride, especially in traffic.
If you're picking someone up, double-check which airport they're landing at before you head out, and if you're dropping off a rental car or parking, make sure it's at the same airport you're flying back from. As the traveler from Sweden learned, the three letters that matter most on a boarding pass are easy to skip right past.
