Jake Nelson

The plane, CC-BGG, was operating flight LA800 from Sydney to Santiago via Auckland on Monday when it experienced a sudden drop over the Tasman Sea around two hours after take-off, causing unrestrained passengers and crew to be violently thrown around the cabin.

As reported in The Wall Street Journal, the Department of Justice is contacting passengers and crew who were on board the flight as part of its probe, with the airline reportedly unable to find documentation about the door plug and saying the records likely do not exist.

The funding was announced during International Women’s Day and Women of Aviation Week celebrations this month as part of the government’s Women in the Aviation Industry Initiative, with a further $2.9 million still available under the initiative until June 2026.

From today, Australian Aviation readers can also keep track of the latest aviation news, market intelligence, information and insights on Threads and Bluesky, as well as through our existing channels on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter).

The agreement will allow Rex domestic passengers to connect onto international flights operated by Abu Dhabi-based Etihad and vice versa, though stops short of a full codeshare deal. Etihad is now selling Rex domestic flights on its website, through travel agencies, and through online booking sites.

In an internal memo seen by Australian Aviation, Virgin Australia Regional Airlines executive general manager Nathan Miller said the company is considering Airbus A220-100s or Embraer E190-E2s to replace the airline’s four remaining Fokker 100s, which have an average age of around 30 years.