Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport

Compiled by Bill Gao

Sydney (Mascot), New South Wales (Australia)

IATA: SYD ICAO: YSSY

Longest Active Runway

12,999 ft

3,962 meters

Field Elevation

21 ft

6 m MSL

Runway Inventory

3 active

Lighted / Paved

Coordinates & Class

-33.9461°, 151.1770°

LARGE AIRPORT

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Multi-Universe Rankings & Statistical Standing

How ranks work →

RunwayFacts Published Dataset

#91 of 650

In curated primary commercial index

Global Commercial Universe

#146 of 7558

Top 1.9% percentile worldwide

National Standing (Australia)

#1 of 9 in AU

#1 of 537 in full national registry

vs Large Airport Median

+30%

Compared to 10,000 ft baseline

💡 SYD in numbers: 12,999 ft longest runway · #91 of 650 published · #146 of 7,558 worldwide (top 1.9%) · #1 in Australia.

🔬 Operational & Aerodrome Engineering Comparative Analysis

Longest runway ≥10,500 ft

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Elevation & National Context

Lowland Aerodrome (<2,000 ft)

SYD lies at 6 m (21 ft), #584 of 650 published airports by elevation and 10.3 percentile among 7,558 worldwide. It is 10 ft below the Australia median (31 ft, 9 airports); MEL is highest at 434 ft, 413 ft higher than SYD.

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Regional Density & Alternates (100 NM)

1 Qualifying Aerodrome in Vicinity

Closest of 1 paved-runway (≥5,000 ft) neighbour within 100 NM: Newcastle Airport (NTL), 76.5 NM, 10,033 ft. SYD has the longest runway in this radius, 2,966 ft over NTL.

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Runway Inventory & National Standing

Primary Runway: 12,999 ft (3,962 m)

SYD runways: 16R/34L 12,999 × 148 ft asphalt (asp); 07/25 8,300 × 148 ft asphalt (asp); 16L/34R 7,999 × 148 ft asphalt (asp). National standing: #1 of 9 in Australia; 1,001 ft ahead of MEL (11,998 ft). +30% vs the 10,000 ft baseline.

🛫 Physical Runway Inventory & Surface Engineering

Runway Designator	Length (ft / m)	Width (ft / m)	Surface Material	Lighting	Status
16R/34L	12,999 ft (3962 m / 3.962 km)	148 ft (45m)	`Asphalt (ASP)`	✅ Lighted	✅ Active
07/25	8,300 ft (2530 m / 2.530 km)	148 ft (45m)	`Asphalt (ASP)`	✅ Lighted	✅ Active
16L/34R	7,999 ft (2438 m / 2.438 km)	148 ft (45m)	`Asphalt (ASP)`	✅ Lighted	✅ Active

🧭 Comparative Aerodromes (100 NM Radius, ≥5,000 ft Paved)

Great-circle Haversine spatial proximity matching for commercial facilities with paved runway capacity within 100 NM.

Aerodrome Name	IATA	Distance	Longest Runway	Lighting
Newcastle Airport (Williamtown)	`NTL`	76.5 NM (141.7 km)	10,033 ft	✅ Lighted

🛡️ Source: OurAirports Open Aviation Database, snapshot 2026-09-01 · Provenance →