Canberra Airport welcomes Badgerys Creek airport announcement

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Infrastructure Minister Paul Fletcher declared construction ready to begin on the Badgerys Creek site in western Sydney on Monday.

A decades-long debate saw Canberra Airport once slated as a reliever site for Sydney Airport, provided a high-speed train connected passengers between cities.

Badgerys Creek was settled upon in 2014. It is expected to take its first passengers in the mid-2020s.

Canberra Airport managing director Stephen Byron said Monday's construction plan signings would likely have minimal impact on Canberra, with a number of passengers still expected to cross the border for flights.

"We've always supported Badgerys Creek," he said.

"Kingsford Smith Airport is under pressure and Sydney needs a second airport, so we welcome the decision by the federal government to push on with that.

"I don't think we will lose any passengers - most of our growth will come out of our primary catchment of one million people.

"If you're down there (western Sydney), you're probably not going to come here anyway. If you're somewhere in between and you're coming here now, you'll continue to come here."

Mr Byron said he believed the announcement would not impact on the likelihood of a fast train between Canberra and Sydney.

"Naturally we would and still do support a fast train between Canberra and Sydney," he said.

"There's one or two consortiums trying to get themselves together. Whilst in the past we had drawn that link on if there was no second airport in Sydney, it's just not as relevant."

Canberra Airport's growth was recently underlined by several airlines announcing plans to fly in and out of the capital. Qatar Airways listed Canberra among its 2017-18 destinations in November and Pelican Airlines will fly direct from Dubbo next year.

Singapore Airlines and Tiger Airways expanded their services to Canberra this year.