Jake Nelson

Services from both Melbourne and Adelaide to Bali will be axed from 18 June, with Captain Achmad Sadikin Abdurachman, general manager of Indonesia AirAsia, saying the decision was “not made lightly, but the current operating environment has made these routes no longer viable”.

The Flying Kangaroo topped the table in the Southwest Pacific, behind only SAS Scandinavian Airlines in the global stakes, with 87.77 per cent of flights arriving on time last month and 1.75 per cent cancelled. The carrier had placed third globally in January.

The budget this month has pledged $66.5 million over four years from 2026–27 to “support [CASA] to continue its critical safety and regulatory functions”, and noted that “annual VH aircraft registrations [will] be introduced to improve regulatory compliance and safety outcomes”.

The airline says it will cut check-in time by up to 50 per cent with the upgrades, which include changing its airport check-in kiosks to bag tag printers and encouraging guests to check in online or via the Virgin Australia app.

Spence, who has held the position for five years, will be joined by Greg Hughes as a new appointment to the board of the aviation safety regulator. It comes as the federal government has pledged more than $65 million to CASA over the next four years.

In its Australian Aviation Network Overview report for April 2026, Airservices Australia revealed Australia saw 2,475 daily average passenger flights last month, up just 0.2 per cent on the previous year, with domestic regional flights dropping by 4.1 per cent.