Isabella Richards

Air New Zealand’s quarantine flights to Australia were sold out within three minutes after going live this morning, as citizens rush to get home during the suspension period.

It comes after we earlier reported that US airlines and Emirates were pursuing locked-down Australian pilots and will add to concerns the country could face a staff shortage when flying resumes. 

Air New Zealand will maintain the quarantine-free suspension with Australia amid the eight-week extension of the travel bubble ban, announced on Friday. The current flights from New Zealand to Australia will be cancelled from 25 September to 30 November as COVID-19 cases in Australia continue to skyrocket. This content is available exclusively to Australian Aviation

Air New Zealand and aerospace giant Airbus have penned a deal to research hydrogen-fuelled aircraft together, as part of reaching net zero emissions. The two companies today signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to determine New Zealand’s “opportunities and challenges” in flying sustainable aircraft. This content is available exclusively to Australian Aviation members. Login Become

Following its launch from New Zealand in March this year, and under the control of UNSW Canberra, the M2 has now split into two smaller CubeSats  (M2-A and M2-B) and will now continue to orbit in formation flying.

It comes as Boeing warned earlier this year that if current trends continue, the global industry will be short of 600,000 pilots by 2040, with the problem thought to be particularly acute in Australia.