Air New Zealand NZ166, the first international flight to leave the new Western Sydney International Airport. (Reuters pic)SYDNEY: The first international flight took off Monday from a new, multi-billion-dollar airport in the fast-growing western suburbs of Sydney.
After more than four decades of planning, Western Sydney International Airport offers the first alternative to the city's main airport, which has been operating for more than a century.
An Air New Zealand plane from Auckland landed and soon afterwards flew out of the airport in the morning, launching a three-flights-a-week service to Sydney's largely working-class western suburbs.
"It's not every day you get to be part of opening a brand-new international airport," said Air New Zealand chief operations officer Kate Boyer.
