A holidaymaker has gone viral after confusing Western Sydney Airport with Western Australia and discovering he had arrived in New South Wales rather than Perth.
The passenger had travelled on an Air New Zealand flight from Auckland, which landed at Western Sydney International on Monday during the airport’s first 24 hours of operation.
“I got confused, I saw Western Sydney,” he said in a television interview. “I thought it was Western Australia, and I’m meant to be in Perth, but look, it’s still pretty fun, so we’ll make the best of it.”
He said he realised the mistake by the time he boarded the flight, but remained relaxed about the situation. “I’m on holiday, so it’s not the worst thing,” he added.
The traveller was not the only passenger uncertain about their destination at the new $5.6 billion airport. Julie Lundmark, who arrived on a domestic Jetstar flight, said she and others had been unsure where they had landed.
“We landed here and looked out of the window and had no idea where we were,” she said.
Western Sydney International welcomed its first commercial flight on Sunday and is expected to transform travel into and out of Australia’s biggest city, providing it with a 24-hour international airport for the first time.
Seven airlines have signed up to operate from the airport, including Jetstar and Air New Zealand. There are currently no direct flights between Perth and Western Sydney International.
