The new airport is intended to operate around-the-clock with no curfew, using 3.7-kilometre runway that can take aircraft as big as the Airbus A380.

Singapore Airlines added capacity on its route to and from Sydney Airport last November, with a fifth daily return service, but is adding options to its future plans by backing Western Sydney Airport as well. The airline’s lower-cost subsidiary, Scoot, has 12 weekly return flights between Singapore and Sydney Airport.

Qantas and Jetstar announced their plans for the new airport in June last year, saying they would operate five Qantas aircraft and 10 Jetstar aircraft from the new airport once flights begin from the end of 2026.

That announcement only covered domestic routes, with Qantas saying the single-aisle aircraft would fly to destinations such as Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

King expressed concern on Monday about competition between airports and the impact on customers, a key issue in the new aviation white paper.

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“I think there is tension between airports, which in and of themselves are a monopoly. You don’t have a choice as an airline, you can only fly to that one place,” she told radio station 3AW.

“That’s why bringing on Western Sydney International Airport in Sydney will really be a game changer for the busiest part of our network, and that will change things as well.”

Sydney Airport recorded 9.7 million passengers in the second quarter of this year, up 6.4 per cent on the same period last year and close to the levels it saw before the pandemic.