Aerial drone close up view of the new Western Sydney Airport at Badgerys Creek, NSW, Australia.
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Ahead of its first passenger flights in October, Western Sydney International Airport (WSI) has tapped Lagardère AWPL to operate its duty‑free and travel‑essentials offer, adding another significant partnership to the JV retailer’s portfolio.
The deal includes 11 stores across both international and domestic precincts, covering approximately 33,400 square feet. The product offer to shoppers will combine a mix of well-known international brands and travel-exclusive products, with a ‘best of the west’ concept showcasing the culture of Western Sydney. Of the total retail space awarded, about 60% will be dedicated to duty-free shopping, and the rest to travel essentials and specialty retail.
The 24/7 greenfield gateway, also known as Nancy-Bird Walton Airport has cost 18 billion Australian dollars ($12.4 billion). It is built on the lands of the Cabrogal people of the Dharug nation, and it is likely that some of their cultural heritage will be reflected in the retail offer, a Lagardère Travel Retail spokesperson told me.
WSI’s CEO Simon Hickey said that with Lagardère AWPL on board, passengers could look forward to “a premium retail experience,” though no further details of the offer were outlined. The WSI award is a big win for Lagardère AWPL—a 50:50 JV between Australian travel retailer AWPL and France’s Lagardère Travel Retail. It builds on the company’s footprint of more than 150 stores across Australia and New Zealand, with locations at airports in Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Darwin, Adelaide, Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, Queenstown, and Canberra.
Retail fitouts are expected to begin in the coming months, in time for the airport’s first flights for domestic, international, and cargo services. The maiden international departing flight will be on November 23 when Singapore Airlines flies to Changi Airport, where a new terminal is taking shape.
A long‑game strategy for Sydney aviation
While WSI is a competitor to Sydney’s main hub, Kingsford Smith (SYD), which is capacity- and slot-constrained, it is not an immediate threat as passenger growth is not expected to be supercharged. “By 2033 the airport is forecast to serve 10 million passengers annually and provide direct employment for up to 8,500 people,” said Hickey.
Last year, SYD, where Gebr. Heinemann is the core duty-free operator, processed 42.5 million, with particularly high growth of Chinese passengers as more route capacity was opened up with Chinese airports. Scott Charlton, Sydney Airport’s CEO, said that 2025 was a record year for international passengers “reflecting Sydney’s role as Australia’s primary international gateway.”
WSI, a single-runway airport on opening, might be small now, but it is unconstrained and sells itself as a 24-hour gateway with brand new infrastructure in an area with a growing catchment. Its terminal—designed by Cox Architecture and Zaha Hadid Architects, whose airport projects are known for their ‘wow’ factor—integrates both international and domestic operations. It is strategically located in the airport’s midfield to ensure its is sited optimally for a future parallel runway.
Moreover, WSI is planning an airport city around it. The first office building will be constructed by 2027, and by 2030, the terminal plaza will have up to 430,000 square feet of space for hotels, shops, offices, parking, transport and other uses. These facilities will be introduced with an intention of 24/7 usage “around the terminal and station” to enable businesses, bars, retail, cafes and entertainment to contribute to a new night-time economy. Cultural infrastructure and opportunities for connecting with First Nations people will also be part of the project.
A public consultation for a draft master plan up to 2045 closed in September 2025 and WSI expects to receive approval for an updated version from Australia’s minister for infrastructure and transport at any moment. This will trigger the publication of a final master plan for 2025–2045 to guide development over the next 20 years.