Jake Nelson

Starting this week, passengers aboard Qantas flights QF154 and QF178 from Auckland and Queenstown to Melbourne can complete the Australia Digital Travel Declaration through the Qantas app up to 72 hours before travel.

The three-month trial, run in conjunction with Sydney Airport and SITA, commenced this week at Gate 10 and is designed to gather information on potential benefits including fewer boarding pass errors. The gate technology will be in use at Western Sydney International when it opens this year.

The two gates, opening this week, are the latest stage in the airport’s overhaul, which also included a $130 million runway overhaul that completed last year, allowing it to handle larger aircraft such as the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350.

The “Star-Bound” drone show has been cancelled for Tuesday and Wednesday after 89 drones reportedly dropped into the water and onto marina wharves around Cockle Bay. Drone shows returned to the festival this year after being cancelled in 2025 due to overcrowding concerns.

A total of 10 passengers and crew suffered minor injuries when flight CX156 from Brisbane to Hong Kong hit severe turbulence on Friday, with people reportedly flung into the ceiling of the A350-900 during the breakfast service.

VH-8VI “Lake Centenary”, which is painted red in a callback to the Virgin Blue days, operated flight VA308 from Brisbane to Melbourne on Monday morning, touching down at 9am. The aircraft arrived in Australia last week after leaving the Boeing factory in Seattle in March.