Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport (WSI) has begun its operational readiness program as part of its preparations to open in the second half of next year.
The program will see ongoing trials carried out across the terminal and broader airport precinct over the months ahead, including a planned emergency exercise involving a 737 next week.
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) is also conducting flight path safety checks at WSI, which will involve a light plane – a twin-engine Cessna Conquest – carrying out test flights to ensure the airport’s approach procedures are safe and accurate, before the plane lands on the runway.
The flight checks will also enable CASA to confirm that obstacles are accurately marked on charts to ensure infrastructure like towers, masts or buildings or environmental factors like trees can be safely navigated by aircraft coming in to land at WSI.
WSI chief operating officer Matt Duffy said, “Decades of planning, years of construction and millions of work hours have got us to this exciting moment where we’re essentially switching on all the various systems and services at WSI and putting these brand-new assets through their paces.
“This next phase will see our WSI team trial the dozens of technology systems and assets on which our 24-hour airport will rely each day and importantly, test the resilience of those systems as well.
“The ongoing training of staff is also a key part of the program – it allows them to build their skills and experience in a safe, controlled environment so they’re equipped to respond effectively to various simulated scenarios.”
Duffy added that the test flights were also a demonstration of the airport’s close collaboration with critical agencies that will support WSI’s operations when it begins welcoming passengers.
“The CASA safety checks today are an important part of the airport’s ongoing aerodrome certification requirements and comes after WSI welcomed its first plane on the runway in October 2024, which tested the airfield lighting systems,” he said.
“It also comes on the eve of WSI’s planned emergency exercise that’s set to take place next week and will see the first 737 land on our runway, as well as hundreds of emergency service personnel and federal agencies flex their operational muscles as part of a staged aircraft incident.”
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