Jake Nelson

Citing official BITRE data for the month, Airservices pointed to an average of 82 per cent on-time arrivals and on-time departures in April, as well as a cancellation rate of 2 per cent, in its latest Network Overview report for May 2025.

The Kiwi carrier will add more than 34,000 extra seats between Auckland and North America from October 2025 to March 2026, an 8 per cent increase in US and Canada capacity over the previous year, including a 15 per cent boost to premium seating.

Viswashkumar Ramesh, a 40-year-old British national, is believed to have escaped through an emergency exit after the 787-8 Dreamliner, VT-ANB, crashed shortly after take-off in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad. The plane had been operating flight AI171 to London Gatwick.

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.