Western Sydney Airport opens for freighter flights

By Andrew Curran.

Western Sydney Airport's cargo precinct opened for business yesterday, 27 July 2026, with Qantas Freight and Texel Air Australasia the first operators to use the facility.

First on the ground was a Texel Air Boeing 737-800BCF registered ZK-TXF (msn 36804), which landed at Western Sydney (WSI) from Brisbane (BNE) at 09:52 (local time).

This was followed soon after by ZK-TXC (msn 33798), another Texel Air 737-800BCF operating a Team Global Express flight. The aircraft landed from Adelaide (ADL) at 10:00 (local time).

ZK-TXC was the first departure from WSI yesterday, pushing back at 13.01 (local time) to return to Adelaide. ZK-TXF, bound for Brisbane, followed ten minutes later.

Both aircraft beat a Qantas Freight A330-200(P2F) registered VH-EBF (msn 0853), which touched down at WSI at 10:06 (local) time.

Qantas Freight is basing three jets at Western Sydney Airport - two A321-200(P2F)s and one A330. One of the A321s, VH-XF5 (msn 02799), operated the carrier's first revenue flight out of WSI overnight, QF7340 bound for Brisbane on behalf of Australia Post. The A330 departed soon after, flying parcels to Melbourne (MEL).

The Qantas Group is betting big on WSI - in terms of freight, at least. Overnight, six arrivals and eight freighter departures were scheduled, with A330s, A321s, and BAe 146-300s due to arrive or depart from Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide (ADL), and Coolangatta Gold Coast (OOL).

A big investment by Qantas in WSI

Qantas Freight, Menzies Aviation, dnata Cargo, dnata, and Texel Air Australasia have all signed on to operate from Western Sydney Airport's cargo precinct. Qantas Freight has built a 24,000-square-metre cargo facility at the airport, which includes 14,000 square metres of warehouse space. From the get go, the airline will operate scores of weekly A321, A330, and BAe 146 freighter movements through Western Sydney.

"Western Sydney International is a major piece of infrastructure for this country," said Qantas CEO of International and Freight Cam Wallace. "It's a historic day for aviation in Australia as our first freight services take off from Western Sydney International Airport."

Qantas Freight expects to move more than 160,000 parcels through the 24,000 square metre facility in its first 24 hours, with 12 arrivals overnight from 10pm.

Qantas Freight expects to move more than 160,000 parcels through WSI in its first 24 hours of operations. Domestic freighter services will operate to and from Western Sydney Airport to most capital cities as well as onward flights to regional centres, processing more than 850 tonnes of freight a week. International freight flights are expected to begin early next year.

An alternative to Sydney's constrained legacy airport

Texel Air founder and chairman John Chisholm said the new airport gives the airline a platform to scale up charter and scheduled air services in and out of Australia's biggest city.

"One of the most exciting aspects of Western Sydney International is the freedom that comes with genuine 24-hour operations," Chisholm said. "The ability to operate without curfew restrictions creates opportunities that simply do not exist elsewhere in the Sydney market."

Sydney's newest airport is getting a helping hand from Australia’s Department of Transport, who have decided to end longstanding exemptions that allow up to six dozen cargo flights to arrive at and depart from Sydney Airport (SYD) during its curfew hours (23:00–06:00).

The department will wind back the exemptions over the next few months, shifting overnight cargo aircraft arrivals and departures to Western Sydney Airport, around 40 kilometres west of Sydney's notoriously constrained legacy airport.

"Our 24-hour Cargo Precinct is initially capable of moving about a quarter of a million tonnes of freight per year, which is a massive boost to Sydney's overall air cargo capacity," said Western Sydney Airport CEO Simon Hickey.

Stage one of the WSI cargo precinct covers approximately 733,000 square metres and will be able to simultaneously accommodate eight widebody freighters or 16 narrowbody freighters.

"A 24-hour cargo airport allows freight to move when it is ready, not when an airport's operating window permits,” said Chisholm. “That means more efficient supply chains, greater reliability and ultimately a better outcome for Australian businesses and consumers."

Daytime cargo flights to continue at Sydney Airport

Daytime cargo operations at Sydney Airport will continue for the immediate future. The airport currently handles around 15 daytime cargo arrivals and departures between the morning and evening peaks.

Aside from Qantas Freight and Texel Air Australasia, Tasman Cargo Airlines, Singapore Airlines, FedEx, Qatar Airways, UPS, Emirates SkyCargo, MASkargo, Atlas Air and Cathay Cargo all operate dedicated freighter flights in and out of Sydney's legacy airport.

Some but not all of these operators will eventually move to Western Sydney Airport.

Passenger flights at Western Sydney Airport will start in October. Qantas, Jetstar, Singapore Airlines, and Air New Zealand have all announced hard start dates for flights.

Photo: Courtney Keijzers via Western Sydney Airport.

Contact the writer: andrew@aerosouthpacific.com