Jake Nelson

The inaugural VA1 service took off for Doha shortly after 3pm using Qatar Airways’ 777-300ER A7-BET, marking the first long-haul international flight for Virgin since the carrier went into administration in 2020.

The Queensland-based firm plans to use the Transall C-160 fixed-wing aircraft, which can safely land on small regional airstrips for refilling, to bolster its aerial firefighting capabilities in remote and rugged locations. It aims to have all three operational for the 2025–26 fire season.

The test on Wednesday was part of the airport’s preparations to open the refurbished international terminal, which will serve Jetstar’s year-round flights to Bali from October with the aim of also attracting other overseas carriers.

The Chilean carrier will increase its non-stop Sydney–Santiago flights from three to seven days a week starting in November, with Melbourne to follow in December. Both schedules will run until March next year to coincide with the South American summer peak.

The low-cost carrier, which in 2014 axed a Darwin–Manila service launched several years prior, is looking to fly from Perth to Manila and Brisbane to Cebu using its A321neo LR fleet, having received approval from Australia’s International Air Services Commission in April.

The Australian Financial Review has reported that Anchorage Capital Advisors, which has in the past recapitalised businesses such as Slater & Gordon and Alinta Energy, was among the firms that bid on Rex before binding offers closed last week.