Jake Nelson

From 31 January, the Malaysian low-cost carrier will end its trans-Tasman flights from Sydney, with services from Kuala Lumpur to Auckland connecting instead through the Gold Coast starting on 3 February. The airline will fly three times weekly between the Gold Coast and Auckland.

The airport, which recently finished a $200 million terminal expansion, is looking to entice airlines such as Cathay Pacific, China Southern, and Emirates back to Adelaide. The retail space from the terminal expansion has been fully leased and is expected to be completely open by year’s end.

The 800-metre Deborah Lawrie Flyover, part of the $2.6 billion Sydney Gateway project, passes over Sir Reginald Ansett Drive to the domestic terminals, and is slated to open this weekend. Lawrie famously won a 10-month legal battle against Ansett’s refusal to hire women as pilots in the 1970s.

The Rockwell 695A Jetprop Commander light aircraft registered VH-HPY went down close to Eloise Copper Mine, near Cloncurry in the state’s northwest, on Saturday afternoon while engaged in fire surveillance activities. All three people on board were killed.

The huge rejection represents a sizable first strike against the board, though Qantas did manage to have its preferred slate of directors elected, including advertising guru Todd Sampson who survived a 34 per cent protest vote.

The three-bay hangar will allow Alliance to bring maintenance back onshore for its fleet of over 70 aircraft, replacing contracts in Slovakia and the UK and creating roughly 100 skilled jobs as well as 16 new traineeships and apprenticeships.