The first cargo plane to land at Western Sydney International Airport was delayed by a typhoon and technical problems.
The flight’s captain, David McCutcheon, pointed to a last-minute aircraft change and a “minor mechanical” problem to explain the arrival delay of more than an hour on Monday afternoon.
“We needed an engineer to come in and fix something on board for this to happen,” he said.
Qantas Freight chief executive Igor Kwiatkovsky said while it was “always disappointing to have a delay”, the aircraft change was due to unforeseen circumstances.
“The delays were actually due to the typhoon over Shanghai. We had a plane in Shanghai that was taking off and that caused a delay and so we have to make operational changes this morning,” he said.
Despite the wayward start, the landing of the Qantas A321 freighter at 2pm was a major milestone and the culmination of years of anticipation.
Mr McCutcheon said the flight went “very smoothly” and staff on board were “very happy with the flight”.
“It’s a great honor and something you don’t get to do very often in your career, in terms of operating your first flight at a new airport.”
Western Sydney International chief executive Simon Hickey said the successful flight meant the airport’s cargo project was “getting closer to fruition”.
“The cargo area here will truly serve the world… and it will bring jobs together across Western Sydney International and create opportunities that don’t exist today,” he said.
“We are really approaching the end of the runway here at WSI and (it was) exciting to see the Qantas A321 land here and begin our test flights before we open at the end of the moment.”
The 24-hour site is set to “significantly improve” Sydney’s air freight systems and handle 220,000 tonnes of cargo a year.
Although the facility’s current capacity is half that of Sydney Airport, the infrastructure has the potential to grow to handle two million tonnes a year in the future.
Acting Transport Minister Christy McBain welcomed Qantas Freight’s first trial flight to the new Sydney Airport.
“This is the largest aircraft to land at Western Sydney International Airport to date as we prepare to open up to cargo operations,” she said.
“The new airport will connect Western Sydney to the world, allowing us to move products and goods from across the state to new markets around the world.”
Qantas and Jetstar recently announced that their services will begin operating from a new location later this year.
Jetstar is set to fly its first commercial passenger aircraft from the airport on October 25, 2026, when the airport officially opens to passengers.
The flight will depart at 11am local time and head to the Gold Coast, the first of four weekly flights to the destination.
The low-cost airline will also operate three weekly flights to Brisbane and up to 14 flights to Melbourne Airport.
Although Qantas Freight will officially begin operations by the end of July, its passenger service will not begin until March 28, 2027.
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