Brief
Simon Hickey’s turbulent path to Western Sydney Airport opening
The Western Sydney International Airport chief executive recounts decades of crises that shaped his leadership ahead of the airport’s October 25 launch.
By Felo News Desk · Published
Simon Hickey, chief executive of Western Sydney International Airport, says the terminal is ready for its first passengers as the airport prepares to open on October 25, 2026. In a recent interview, Hickey reflected on a series of personal and professional crises that have marked his career.
What happened
Three months after Australia entered a COVID‑19 lockdown in early 2020, Hickey took charge of the airport’s construction. Since then, the project has weathered floods in western Sydney, bushfires, and locust and mouse plagues. The terminal, named Nancy Bird Walton, is now complete and awaiting passengers.
What the reports add
The article notes that, twenty‑five years earlier, Hickey was working in New York for Bovis Lend Lease when a colleague warned him that the World Trade Centre was on fire. He visited Ground Zero the next day and says the event “changed me in a way.” A decade later, while a senior Qantas executive, Hickey was on the committee that decided to ground the airline’s entire fleet in 2011 to end an industrial dispute, describing it as a “monumental moment.”
What was said
Hickey told the Sydney Morning Herald, “If you stepped outside my office, you could just look down and see the World Trade Centre,” recalling his view of the towers on September 11, 2001. He added, “It does change me in a way. It makes you a little introspective … about what you want to do in your life.” Regarding the Qantas grounding, he said, “I was on the executive committee that considered it, and I supported it,” and called the decision “a white‑knuckle ride.”
How it came about
Hickey’s career trajectory—from a senior role in the Americas during 9/11, through leading Qantas’s frequent‑flyer, international and freight divisions, to steering the Western Sydney Airport project—has been shaped by these high‑stakes moments. The airport’s opening follows years of delays caused by the pandemic and subsequent natural‑disaster challenges, echoing earlier Felo News coverage of major infrastructure projects such as the Hollywood Burbank Airport terminal opening on October 13, 2026.
Key facts
- Western Sydney International Airport is set to open on October 25, 2026. (smh.com.au)
- Simon Hickey has overseen the airport’s construction since early 2020. (smh.com.au)
- Hickey was in New York during the September 11 attacks and visited Ground Zero the next day. (smh.com.au)
- He was part of the Qantas executive committee that grounded the airline’s fleet in 2011. (smh.com.au)
Sources
- [1] smh.com.au — originally reported as “Western Sydney Airport opening: CEO Simon Hickey’s ‘white-knuckle ride’”
