Jake Nelson

The 3,343-square-metre Hangar 83, slated to open in 2026, will be twice the size of Textron’s current maintenance facility at Essendon Fields, and will be located on the southern apron to eliminate the need for use of the airport’s jet crossing. Construction is scheduled to begin next month.

While the new service will begin on schedule, with the first flight slated for 30 March, it will initially operate four times per week on 737s rather than five times per week on the newer A220s, with the A220s now set to take over the route on 26 October.

In total, 3,393,977 passengers travelled through Melbourne’s terminals last month, compared to 3,322,940 in December 2019. This also included a record 1,238,829 international passengers, 671,135 of whom were arrivals.

The Flying Kangaroo’s regional arm is replacing older 50-seat Q300s out of Adelaide with the newer, larger planes, a switch enabled by its move last year to purchase 14 mid-life Q400s to transition its turboprop fleet to a single aircraft type.

The carrier will increase its Sydney–Istanbul services from four to five per week in mid-June this year, then six in October, and finally daily from 12 January. Flights will be operated using A350-900s via Kuala Lumpur, shifting to non-stop next year when longer-range aircraft arrive.

The FIFO and charter operator, which had 76 aircraft in revenue service as of 31 December, posted a statutory pre-tax profit of $41.3 million, up $3.6 million or 9.5 per cent, with 58,362 total flight hours, up from 50,793. 97 per cent of these hours were flown under long-term contracts.