iscover
Western Sydney International Airport (WSI) has marked another major milestone with the arrival of its first jet aircraft.
The NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) 737 Large Air Tanker N138CG “Marie Bashir” touched down on the runway shortly after 8:30am on Tuesday, following a short flight from nearby RAAF Base Richmond to take part in a multi-agency, full-scale aerodrome emergency exercise.
This content is available exclusively to Australian Aviation members.
A monthly membership is only $5.99 or save with our annual plans.
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
- Access to the Australian Aviation app
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
- Daily news updates via our email bulletin
- Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
- Access to the Australian Aviation app
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
- Daily news updates via our email bulletin
The emergency scenario, which will run until Wednesday and include simulations of an aircraft in distress, is an important step in preparing WSI to open for passenger services next year.
“It’s really important that we understand how Western Sydney International Airport is actually going to function, and how we’re going to function together when there’s a situation that calls on that,” WSI chief executive Simon Hickey told media at the airport on Tuesday morning.
“We have over 300 people who have been working here today on an emergency exercise, over 50 emergency vehicles.
“We’ve got our first firefighting equipment that is here, ready to go in the exercise, and we’ve got volunteers from the community, so everyone working together to really pull the airport together and understand how we work in an emergency situation.”
The airport’s operational staff, alongside 300 volunteers and emergency services partners from the RFS, NSW Police Force, and Fire and Rescue NSW, plus federal agencies, including the Australian Federal Police, Australian Border Force and Airservices Australia, will take part in the exercise.
Speaking to the press, Federal Transport Minister Catherine King congratulated WSI and the participating agencies, and dubbed the airport “a huge investment in the future of Western Sydney and the economy of this region”.
“We’re getting closer and closer and closer to the opening of the airport at the end of 2026 for passenger services, and in order for the airport to be certified, we’ve got to make sure everything is ready to go,” she said.
“That is really what today is all about, providing that opportunity to stress test our emergency response with an emergency scenario throughout the course of the day, but also, as we saw last week, the flight paths being tested, the baggage services being tested.
“This has been such an important project for the community out here. We’ve already had over 12,000 people working on the construction, we know that jobs are already starting here at the airport, and this is just a terrific day.”
WSI saw its first “official” aircraft landing late last year, with a light aircraft in October 2024 conducting test flights for the airfield’s ground lighting system.
The Piper PA-30 Twin Engine Comanche aircraft, VH-8MN, was tasked with taking off and landing at both ends of the runway in daylight, dusk and nighttime conditions to ensure the airport’s 3,000 aeronautical ground lights were fit for purpose ahead of the 2026 opening.
WSI also saw flight path testing by a twin-engine Cessna Conquest this month ahead of the exercise.
