Jake Nelson

The airport was forced to shut its north-south runway on Sunday night following the incident, as the tyre damage to the Dreamliner, A6-BLN, meant it could not be immediately cleared from the runway and was reportedly stuck there for around 14 hours.

Financial services firm Caspar, Balthazar & Melchior (CB&M) was sensationally called in as administrator overnight following days of speculation about the carrier’s future, with insiders criticising Claus’ decision to invest in an expensive 747 freighter for a seasonal-only business.

A RAAF C-17A Globemaster III last month dropped off the first supplies at Wilkins Aerodrome in Antarctica.

Operation Christmas Drop 24 ran from 4 to 17 December and involved a RAAF C-130J Hercules and 35 Australian Defence Force personnel.

The funding will be used to upgrade the runway at Whyalla Airport in regional South Australia, which was last year at the centre of the high-profile “Rexit” stoush between Rex and the local council over enhanced security screening.

The planes landed at RAAF Base Williamtown between November and December as part of Operation Lightning Ferry, bringing the Air Force’s total F-35A contingent to 72.