Hannah Dowling

The airline said that the slew of cancellations, which will affect in excess of 20,000 passengers in total, were necessary due to “uncertainty” over the resumption of quarantine-free trans-Tasman travel.

Virgin’s chief of corporate affairs Moksha Watts has resigned from her role after just eight months, amid an ongoing review of her workplace behaviour.

Qantas has announced it will ramp up international flights from Melbourne from Monday, and will reintroduce its Melbourne-London services from this Saturday.

PM Morrison also announced that from 1 December, Australia will enter into quarantine-free travel bubble arrangements with both Japan and South Korea, which will see tourists from these nations free to come to Australia.

While the Australian government continues to lock out tourist visa holders, travellers from Singapore with a valid student or migration visa are now allowed into the country, for the first time since Australia imposed hard international border policies in March 2020.

Announcing the major milestone onsite at the airport on Friday, Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts Paul Fletcher said the airport’s construction was now one quarter complete.