Construction
Built built in 1920, and known 'Sydney Airport'. The first gravel runways were built in 1933.

Today
Renamed Sydney (Kingsford Smith) International Airport in 1953, in honour of Charles Kingsford Smith, the pioneering Australian aviator.

By the 1960s the need for a new international terminal had become apparent, and work commenced in late 1966. The new terminal was officially opened on May 3, 1970, by Queen Elizabeth II. The first Boeing 747 'Jumbo Jet' to serve the airport, Pan American's 'Clipper Flying Cloud' (N734PA), arrived on October 4, 1970. In the 1970s the north-south runway was expanded to become one of the longest runways in the southern hemisphere. The international terminal was expanded in 1992 and has undergone several refurbishments since then. Airport code: SYD, ICAO: YSSY.

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Last Updated
October 1, 2009