Jake Nelson

Flight QF159 arrived from Brisbane at 3pm local time aboard the 737-800 VH-VZU. The Flying Kangaroo will operate three times per week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays between Brisbane and Port Vila, with Jetstar to commence four weekly flights on 12 December.

In the financial year to August, international travel was up 8.8 per cent and domestic up 0.8 per cent on the same time last year, for a total increase of 3.2 per cent, while for the month of August, international seat capacity was at 101 per cent of 2019 levels.

The agreement will give the airport, currently in the middle of a major redevelopment, funding from the state’s Aviation Attraction Fund (AAF) for two years after the commencement of new routes.

Speaking to news.com.au, Jetstar CEO Stephanie Tully said the low-cost carrier is going through a “big growth phase” and that its fleet renewal program, including the upcoming overhaul and refit of its Dreamliners, will unlock new international markets.

The Gulf carrier says it has not yet determined the end date for the daily 777-300ER flights, which recommenced last year after a three-year COVID-19 hiatus. The airline is not pulling out of Melbourne entirely, with its Dubai services to continue.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Transport Minister Catherine King dismissed Senator Bridget McKenzie’s (pictured) divestiture idea, floated in the Australian Financial Review on Monday morning, as a “thought bubble”.