Qantas Domestic CEO: Sydney 'needs a second airport'
Qantas Domestic CEO Markus Svensson, speaking at the CAPA Airline Leader Summit Australia Pacific, noted (28-Jul-2026) the carrier's freighter test trials at Western Sydney International (Nancy-bird Walton) Airport "went very well", adding: "We're up and running now". Mr Svensson said: "We built a high tech and automated freight shelf, so its great to start from a clean slate and build something that's highly efficient". Mr Svensson said Sydney "needs a second airport", noting: "I'm cautious that these things take time". He predicted Western Sydney will "start off as a leisure based airport, where you have more flexibility around schedule and timing". He added: "There will be some business travel but they want frequency and schedule and that will take time".
Background ✨
Western Sydney International Airport's 24-hour Cargo Precinct began trial operations on 13-Jul-2026 with a Qantas Freight A321F arrival, ahead of regular domestic freight services expected from 27-Jul-2026 and throughput of more than 850 tonnes per week.1 2 Stage one of the precinct totalled about 733,000sqm and was designed to handle eight 747/777 freighters or 16 737/A320 domestic freighters simultaneously, with Qantas Freight among early signatories.3 Menzies Aviation said it secured regulatory approvals to operate international cargo services and handled opening-day flights at its 12,500sqm facility.4