Jake Nelson

The incident on 9 August saw Virgin Australia flight VA555 from Sydney to Perth, operated by VH-IJQ, abort take-off after Qantas flight QF728 from Sydney to Ayers Rock Airport, operated by VH-XZH, began crossing the runway ahead of it.

The impact of the Middle East conflict, including increases in the cost of jet fuel brought on by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, has caused “higher than normal slot cancellations as airlines adjust their capacity and reshape networks”, according to slot manager ACL Asia Pacific.

The twin-engine plane, which the Western Australian government says is the only aircraft of its type operated by an Australian law enforcement agency, will be used for rapid response to emergencies in regional WA, including critical incidents, major investigations, and natural disasters.

Westaway, who has led the peak body since 2024, intends to spend more time with his family in Melbourne at “an important time”, following “reflection on the Association’s next stage”.

The strategic partnership will see AirAsia-affiliated Teleport set up an ecommerce hub at Avalon including a dedicated air freight operation, handling Chinese goods from online marketplaces such as Shein and Temu. It comes after the opening of a new cargo hub at Avalon last year.

In iSelect’s Australian Airport Delay Index for 2025, Sydney saw 6,700,207 passengers delayed or cancelled, ahead of Melbourne at 6,360,989, and Brisbane at 4,652,914. Delayed flights sat at 23 per cent, while 3.12 per cent cancelled last year.