Hannah Dowling

Qantas has blamed cabin crew unions as the reason it’s had to rely on overseas-based crew over its Australian workforce in recent weeks, while responding to rumours suggesting it is sending more Australian roles offshore.

The helicopter crashed on 28 February at King River, in the Northern Territory’s West Arnhem Land, with one pilot onboard, and a second who had been suspended below the helicopter in a harness, during a crocodile egg retrieval mission.

The change.org petition boasted just 463 signatures as of 29 March, however as of Tuesday, 19 April, this number had soared to over 17,400.

Notably, Pipistrel’s electric light aircraft, Velis Electro, became the world’s first electric aircraft to receive full type-certification from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency in 2020, and remains the only of its kind to hold this certification.

The Royal Australian Air Force has welcomed the donation of the cockpit and forward fuselage of a historic Gloster Meteor fighter from the South Australian Aviation Museum.

The extensive delays and long queues seen at airports over the last week were “entirely predictable” and represent poor planning on the part of airlines, airports and governments, the Transport Workers Union has said.