World City Guide

Getting There By Air

Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD)
Tel: (02) 9667 9111. Fax: (02) 9667 1592.
Website: www.sydneyairport.com.au

Situated on the northern shoreline of Botany Bay, Sydney Airport is Australia’s premier gateway, handling 24.3 million passengers per year, arriving on flights from 53 international, domestic and regional airlines.

Major airlines: Qantas (tel: (02) 9691 3636 or 131 313, Australia only; website: www.qantas.com.au) is the national airline. Other major airlines include: Air Canada, China Airlines, Air New Zealand, Alitalia, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Garuda, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, Lauda Air, Malaysia Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Thai Airways, United Airlines and Virgin Blue.

Approximate flight times to Sydney: From London is 20 hours 10 minutes; from New York is 20 hours 25 minutes; from Los Angeles is 14 hours 40 minutes and from Toronto is 19 hours 30 minutes.

Airport facilities: Sydney Airport’s international terminal (T1) is well equipped with restaurants, cafés, bars and a food hall, as well as information desks, lockers, a health care centre, money changing facilities, ATMs, prayer room, showers and two smoking lounges. There are hotel reservation facilities and car hire from Avis, Budget, Hertz and Thrifty.

Business facilities: Sydney Airport Executive Services (tel: (02) 9667 6534; fax: (02) 8338 4922; e-mail: bookings@syd.com.au; website: www.execservices.com.au) hires out meeting rooms in terminal one and terminal two, as well as VIP rooms in terminal one and a conference area in terminal two. Equipment and catering are supplied on request. Post, fax and photocopying facilities are available at the Australia Post Shop (tel: (02) 9669 1564), while Internet kiosks can be found throughout the international terminal. There are also seven airline lounges.

Arrival/departure tax: Departure, security and baggage screening taxes amounting to A$120.33 are included in the price of the ticket.

Transport to the city: The CityRail Airport Link (tel: 131 500; website: www.cityrail.nsw.gov.au) operates every 10 minutes to and from Central Station, daily 0510–2345 (journey time – 10 minutes). Fares are A$17.30 return or A$11.80 one way. Taxis to the city centre cost A$22-30.