Western Sydney opens on 25 October, making Air NZ's Auckland flight next day its first international service

Western Sydney International Airport (WSI) will take its first passengers on Sunday 25 October, the Australian prime minister's office has confirmed. Air New Zealand's Auckland service starts the next day, which makes it the new airport's first international flight.

According to the PM's office, the first commercial flight is a Jetstar Airbus A320 leaving for the Gold Coast at 11am on the Sunday. Wego's travel blog gives the flight number as JQ362.

Wego says Air New Zealand will fly three return morning services a week between Auckland and WSI, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, using Airbus A320 or A321 aircraft. The exact departure time is still unclear: earlier reports gave both 6.05am and 6.10am. If you're booked on the first weeks of flights, use the time on your own ticket.

Singapore Airlines follows with daily flights to Changi from 23 November.

Qantas doesn't arrive until 28 March 2027, and then only with domestic flights. According to the PM's office, it will fly four times a week to Brisbane and four times a week to Melbourne, using QantasLink Embraer E190s. From opening day, Jetstar will run up to 14 flights a week to Melbourne, four to the Gold Coast and three to Brisbane.

It's a short list. When the ABC reported the opening date in June, only four airlines had announced plans to fly from WSI: Jetstar, Qantas, Singapore Airlines and Air New Zealand. More than 50 fly from Sydney Airport at Mascot.

The bigger problem is getting away from the airport. The terminal at Badgerys Creek is 44km west of Sydney's CBD, the ABC reported. The metro line that was supposed to open with it won't be running.

Nobody is sure when it will open. Wego says the 23km Sydney Metro Western Sydney Airport line is scheduled for 2027, with a trip of about 15 minutes between St Marys and the terminal. The ABC reported NSW Premier Chris Minns saying it could be delayed until 2028. "It's taxpayer money and I'd love to have it up and running as soon as possible, but I'm not going to do that at the expense of taxpayers being taken for a ride," Minns said, according to the ABC.

Until the train runs, these are your options, according to Wego:

• Free shuttle from the St Marys train and bus interchange to the WSI kerb. It runs every 30 minutes from the first passenger flight and takes about 30 minutes in normal traffic. It operates from 4.30am to midnight Sunday to Thursday, and until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays.
• Public buses, which started on 5 July. They link the airport with Penrith, Leppington, Liverpool, Campbelltown and Mount Druitt every 30 minutes, from 5am to 10pm daily.
• Driving. The toll-free M12 Motorway connects the airport area to the M7. There will be more than 6,000 parking spaces.
• Taxis and rideshare.

The ABC said passengers may have to rely mainly on driving and parking in the early months.

For New Zealanders choosing between the two Sydney airports, the most important thing is the three-letter code on the booking. WSI and SYD are separate airports. Wego warns that an itinerary arriving at one and leaving from the other means a transfer across the city. If you're heading for the CBD, SYD has the Airport Link train, which gets you to central Sydney in about 13 minutes. From WSI, the trip starts with a bus or shuttle ride to St Marys.

Unlike Sydney Airport, WSI has no curfew. The PM's office says night flights are due to start on 1 November. That makes no difference to Air New Zealand, whose flights run in the morning.