Emirates, Qatar cleared for Western Sydney airport takeoff

Two of the world’s largest airlines – Emirates and Qatar Airways – are a step closer to launching daily flights from the new Western Sydney International (WSI) airport.

The flights would take advantage of the airport’s local catchment area – some three million people live within one hour’s travel of the airport – as well as its 24-hour operation, to align with the waves of connecting flights from their similarly curfew-free hubs at Dubai and Doha.

The Federal Government on Monday announced it had approved Qatar and the United Arab Emirates for “additional passenger capacity of seven passenger services per week through the new Western Sydney International Airport as an international arrival and departure destination.”

Although the UAE agreement would also cover Etihad Airways, Emirates boasts a much larger fleet and more extensive network, including a long-standing schedule of three daily flights between Sydney and Dubai.

At the time of writing, none of the Gulf carriers have revealed if they will add WSI to their schedule.

While SYD doesn’t permit flights to take off or land between 11pm and 6am, WSI sees its lack of a curfew as a drawcard for international carriers.

Singapore Airlines – which will begin flying from Western Sydney on November 23 – has opted for an 11:55pm departure, touching down at Changi at 5:05am the following day.

Several Emirates and Qatar Airways flights already skirt the edges of Sydney’s overnight curfew, while curfew-free Melbourne enjoys Gulf departures close to midnight and also at 5am.

Also read: Emirates plans private en suite bathrooms for first class