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The Samoan government turned to Air New Zealand to repatriate its citizens in Australia with both Qantas and Virgin no longer operating international flights. On 2 October, the Air New Zealand 787-9, ZK-NZK msn 43217, departed Sydney at 7am and landed at Faleolo Airport near Apia at 8:28pm. It carried around 300 Samoan nationals, who all had to return a negative COVID-19 test before entering a 14-day quarantine at a government location. 

The first of Qantas’ second batch of government supplemented repatriation flights departed London on 22 October bound for the Howard Springs quarantine facility. The Boeing 787-9, VH-ZND msn 63390, left Heathrow as flight QF110 at 11:54am and arrived in Darwin at 11:54am the next day, with no stops. 

The second of Qantas’ repatriation flights departed from India on 26 October and landed in Darwin on 28 October. The Boeing 787-9, VH-ZNC msn 39040, departed Delhi at 9:13pm as flight QF112 and landed at Darwin at 9:46am the following Tuesday. 

POST-COVID RESUMPTIONS

Virgin Australia resumed services between Brisbane and Hamilton Island on 4 August. A Boeing 737, VH-YFP, departed the Queensland capital at 12:45pm carrying 150 passengers and received the traditional water cannon salute when it touched down at 2:33pm. 

NEW ROUTES

Alliance launched its first scheduled flights from Brisbane to the coal mining town of Moranbah in Queensland on 17 August. A Fokker 70, VH-QQW msn 11569, departed as QQ2834 at 6:05am and landed at 7:25am. The airline will now operate seven weekly services, Monday to Friday, with two services on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. 

Alliance launched the first-ever commercial flight between the Sunshine Coast and Canberra on 23 October. The Fokker 100, VH-UQB msn 11483, departed Sunshine Coast at 11:59am as flight QQ2351 and touched down in Canberra at 2:51pm. It follows Queensland’s decision to reopen its border to the ACT on 25 September after shutting it for a second time on 8 August. The twice-weekly service travels between Canberra and the Sunshine Coast before continuing onwards to Cairns.

AERIAL FIREFIGHTING

Queensland in August took delivery of its Q400MR firefighting aircraft, which can carry 10,000 litres of water or retardant. The aircraft touched down at its new base at Bundaberg Airport as part of a $15 million, five-year leasing deal. The tanker arrived from Canada and its crew were immediately placed into quarantine for two weeks. 

STORAGE

Air New Zealand sent eight of its 777s to desert boneyards in Roswell, New Mexico, and Victorville, California. Its 777-219(ER), ZK-OKA msn 29404, departed Auckland on 14 October as flight NZ6014 bound for Roswell, with a stopover in LAX. The following day, a second 777-219(ER), ZK-OKD msn 29401, made the identical journey as flight NZ6016. Air New Zealand has flown six of its 777s to Victorville in southern California from 5 August, including: ZK-OKB msn 34376 (21 October); ZK-OKC 34377 (30 September); ZK-OKH 34379 (16 September); ZK-OKP 39041 (12 August); ZK-OKR 44546; ZK-OKS 44547 (5 August). 

The last of Qantas’ A380 active fleet flew to a Californian desert boneyard on 25 September. VH-OQI msn 055, departed a Dresden maintenance facility in Germany as flight QF6006 at 10:36am and landed at the Victorville facility 11 hours later. Ten of the airline’s fleet are now in the desert, with two residing at a special Qantas hangar at LAX. 

DELIVERIES

Qantas in October took delivery of the world’s first A321 converted to carry cargo rather than passengers. The A321P2F, VH-ULD msn 00835, departed Seletar, Singapore, as flight QF7300 at 9:08am on 14 October and landed in Perth at 2:16pm. 

The RAAF accepted its 30th F-35A Joint Strike Fighter from Lockheed Martin in September. Over the coming years, Australia will purchase 72 of the advanced fifth-generation fighter aircraft as part of the $17 billion AIR 6000 Phase 2A/B program – which is aimed at replacing the ageing F/A-18A/B Classic Hornets that have been in service with the RAAF since 1985. 

Alliance received the first of its 14 new Embraer E190s on 29 October. The E190 left Bonriki in Kiribati at 2:19pm as flight SXIE190 and landed at Brisbane at 5:38pm. The business announced in August it had agreed to a $111 million deal with US-based Azorra Aviation to buy the aircraft to fly regional routes, which also includes six spare General Electric CF34 engines, as well as the option to acquire a further five Embraer jets. 

NOTABLE

The 787th Boeing 787 landed in Melbourne on 20 September. The China Southern 787-9, B-1168 msn 38797, departed Guangzhou at 12:01am as flight CZ321 and landed in Melbourne after nearly nine hours at 10:53am. Boeing delivered the 787th 787 widebody twin airliner to leasing company AerCap in 2018. The aircraft was handed over at Boeing’s Everett delivery centre to the firm, which is its biggest customer. 

Qantas’ ‘flight to nowhere’ toured Australia on 12 October with Captain Alex Passerini dipping as low as 4,000 feet as he flew past landmarks such as the Great Barrier Reef, over the Whitsundays and Uluru. The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, VH-ZND msn 63390, departed Sydney at 10:43am on 12 October for the sold-out, eightand-a-half-hour journey. 

The ‘Great Southern Land’ scenic flight initially flew up the NSW coast before crossing the Queensland border for a fly-by of the Gold Coast and then up the Queensland coast to the Great Barrier Reef. The 787-9, which features the biggest windows on Qantas’ fleet, then tracked across Australia to conduct low-level fly-bys of Uluru and Kata Tjuta before turning back to Sydney for a flyover of Sydney Harbour and Bondi Beach. Flight QF787 finally landed 7:09pm. 

HEAVY METAL

An Antonov An-124 landed at Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport on 5 October and left on 9 October. The Antonov An-124-100, UR-82073 msn 9773054359139, departed Surabaya Airport in Java at 5:25am on 5 October as flight ADB3514 and landed in Darwin at 10:49am. Shortly after, it left to continue on towards Toowoomba, where it landed at 12:30pm. It left four days later, on 9 October, at 5:50am. 

An Antonov An-124 arrived in Sydney on 12 October to deliver the first of two Erickson S-64 Air-Crane firefighting helicopters. The Volga-Dnepr Airlines Antonov An-124, RA-82042 msn 9773054055093, departed Kuala Lumpur at 8:21pm on 11 October as flight VI3848 and landed at Sydney on 12 October at 7:58am. It left later that day at 11:06pm, bound for Honolulu. 

An Antonov Airlines An124-100-150, UR-82072, arrived in Adelaide as flight ADB370F on 13 August from Colombo, Sri Lanka. 

DEFENCE EXERCISES 

A US Air Force B-1B Lancer and B-2 Spirit took part in a joint US-Australian long-range strike exercise in the Northern Territory in August. The activity, over Delamere, Bradshaw and Mount Bundey, saw the US aircraft integrate with the Australian Army and US Marine Rotational Force. While the B1-B and B-2 aircraft did not land in Australia, they were supported by US Air Force air-to-air refuelling aircraft that flew out of RAAF Base Darwin. 

Two hundred members of Singapore’s air force are training in the Northern Territory – but faced three weeks of isolation beforehand. The task force is conducting air combat exercises with F-15SGs, Multi-Role Tanker Transports and G550 Airborne Early Warning aircraft at Delamere Air Weapons Range and Bradshaw Field Training Area. The Republic of Singapore Air Force Fighter Detachment is carrying out the exercises between 7 October and 11 December, with military personal arriving earlier in order to carry out the strict quarantine. 

In September, Exercise Lightning Storm, which saw a spectrum of RAAF assets, ranging from the E-7A Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning & Control, the F/A-18A Hornets, F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, KC-30A Tankers and Hawk Lead-in fighters, all combine with the F-35.