Jake Nelson

Airservices figures showed 2,645 regular passenger transport (RPT) flights on 22 December, with 1,959 domestic and 686 international flights, the highest daily figure since 26 September 2019. On average, December 2023 saw 3,546 passenger flights per day, 97 per cent of 2019 levels.

In its latest Network Overview report for December 2023, the body responsible for air traffic control in Australia acknowledged that 16 per cent of ground delays last month were attributable to Airservices, up from 11 per cent in October and November.

More than 170 MAX 9s operated in US airspace or by US carriers are still grounded for safety inspections, with United and Alaska Airlines – the two major carriers that operate the aircraft – both reporting finding loose bolts.

The crash of VH-XWD on 31 March 2022, which killed all five people on board and was labelled “among the worst in Victoria’s history”, was a result of the pilot inadvertently flying into weather conditions that required instruments despite operating under visual flight rules (VFR).

Last month was the first time since January 2020 that Melbourne saw more than one million international passengers, with the airport also setting a new all-time monthly record for international flights at 4,976, breaking January 2020’s record of 4,834.

The carrier added two new A321neo LRs to its fleet shortly before Christmas, bringing total NEO numbers to 11, with seven more expected by the end of this year. After considering fitting vortex generators to A320s for noise reduction, Jetstar has since concluded there is no business case to do so.