Jake Nelson

Speaking to media in Hobart, the minister said the government has been “working pretty closely” with administrator EY Australia, and remains ready to step in and potentially buy Rex to preserve its vital services if EY cannot make a commercial sale.

The Report of the Review of Australian Government Travel Policies, which was initiated after last year’s Aviation White Paper and completed in December, concluded that government travel bookings broadly matched those by the general public in terms of the split between airlines.

Speaking exclusively to Australian Aviation, chief executive Gytis Gumuliauskas confirmed that all of Skytrans’ operations including regular passenger transport will be rebranded, and that there will be no new SmartLynx Australia livery on its aircraft, with white paint to be applied during regular maintenance.

Funded by $70 million from the airport itself and $60 million from the federal government, the runway upgrades – which began last year – were completed in three stages, and could open up flights to Asian destinations within the next few years, said Norris Carter, chief executive of the airport.

Starting in May 2026, Jetstar will fly three times per week return from Brisbane to Rarotonga using its A321neo LR fleet. This is the sixth new international route Jetstar has announced from Queensland in the past six months, and the carrier is the state’s largest international airline.

The airline, which launched in 2023, wants to see more regulation on the Broome–Kununurra–Darwin route as it prepares to halt services on 1 September. Nexus cited aggressive competition from rival Airnorth for its decision, and said the route has become “financially unsustainable”.