Jake Nelson

The carrier, which already offers Immarsat Wi-Fi on international services, will test out the technology on a domestic A320-family jet and an ATR in late 2024, with a broader launch in 2025 pending a successful trial run of four to six months.

The 70,000m2 structure, built on the site of the international terminal’s old main carpark, includes new pick-up/drop-off areas, undercover parking, public transport links, and new road layouts, and is designed for 650 vehicles per hour at peak times.

The last scheduled flight, Virgin Australia flight VA1298 to Melbourne, is scheduled for 7:45pm on Tuesday, after which the airport will shut down ahead of Jasper’s anticipated landfall on Wednesday. CEO Richard Baker has warned that the airport will not be available until at least Thursday.

Hayden McDonald, 22, touched down in Esperance at 3pm on Monday, ending what is believed to be the first unaccompanied flight of its kind by an autistic pilot. He has logged more than 80 hours of flight time in his Jabiru J120 since the start of his journey on September 8.

Qantas and Jetstar anticipate more than 8.5 million passengers across 70,000 flights in December and January, over half a million more than the 2022–23 holiday period. 15 December is expected to be the busiest day, with more than 150,000 passengers.

Flight VA916 from Brisbane, on 10 March, landed with a force of 2.96 Gs following an initial bounce, caused by the aircraft being flared late. The aircraft, VH-YQR, was undamaged, and none of the 179 passengers or six crew members aboard were injured.