Jake Nelson

Qantas, Virgin, Jetstar, Air New Zealand, Delta and British Airways are among 16 airlines that could be hit with cancellations and delays next Wednesday, as all are serviced at Sydney by Ampol.

The low-cost carrier made the decision in May to drop the route, which operates up to four times per week, leaving Cairns–Darwin served only by Airnorth and QantasLink. The move does not appear to have been covered by local media at the time, despite a statement from a Jetstar spokesperson.

A pair of Robinson R22 cattle mustering helicopters collided shortly after take-off at around 6:20am on Thursday. Both pilots, a 29-year-old and a 30-year-old man, died in the accident at Mt Anderson Station near Camballin in the Kimberley region just east of Broome.

The Sydney Gateway project has been opening in stages since November, with the final stage to open on 1 September. The NSW government said the five kilometres of new roads around the airport will save an estimated 17 minutes between the terminals and the St Peters interchange.

Liquidator Ernst & Young (EY) Australia, which was called in after the airline collapsed in May, said domestic flights will be back “in the short term”, with no timing as of yet for the return of international operations.

A government source this week confirmed to The Australian that plans to make the Ghost Bat a “killer drone” had been shelved after manufacturer Boeing lost out on a US program to make autonomous combat jets.