Jake Nelson

In total, the airport saw 4.08 million international passengers, compared to 6.29 in the 2019 financial year, and 16.08 million domestic passengers, compared to 17.6 million in FY19. Additionally, June 2023 saw a 98 per cent domestic recovery and 77 per cent international recovery on June 2019.

The 21-year-old aircraft, VH-8TG, was last used by Indonesian carrier Sriwijaya Air before its freighter conversion, with other past operators including Garuda Indonesia and Ryanair. It can carry over 23.9 tonnes of cargo.

The twice-weekly return flights on Tuesday and Saturday, beginning 21 November, mark Vietjet’s entry into Australia’s west coast and will raise the airline’s flights between Australia and Vietnam to 19 per week. The route will be serviced by 230-seat Airbus A321neo aircraft.

FlyPelican will operate two hour-long flights per week between Narrabri and its base in Newcastle, starting on 25 August. Currently, Narrabri is served only by Link Airways, which flies to Brisbane and Sydney.

CSIRO’s Sustainable Aviation Fuel Roadmap, developed in concert with Boeing, asserts that Australia has a “moment-in-time opportunity” to develop its own SAF industry, with domestic demand for jet fuel expected to surge 75 per cent by 2050.

The Qatari flag carrier, which is allowed to operate 28 weekly flights across Australia’s four major airports of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, also flies daily between Doha and Adelaide via Melbourne. There is no restriction on the number of flights it can operate to minor airports.