Jake Nelson

Echo Law has lodged proceedings in the Federal Court against the Flying Kangaroo on behalf of what it says are “hundreds of thousands” of Qantas passengers.

The sensors, positioned in Keilor, Sunshine and Bulla, complement six existing noise monitors operated by Airservices Australia, and have been set up in response to community feedback during last year’s public exhibition of the new north-south runway project slated to open in 2027.

Flight ZL709 touched down in Hobart at 11:30am on Thursday aboard VH-8KH. Rex is now flying daily between the two capitals, complementing its Saab 340 regional services to Burnie, Devonport, and King Island, and adding an extra 128,000 seats per year between Tasmania and the mainland.

In its Australian Aviation Network Overview 2023, the air traffic control body said there has been a 16.3 per cent increase in average daily drone flights in FY2023 vs FY2022. December 2022 was the highest month for detections, with 5,258 drone activities spotted near airports.

The partnership, which began in 2013 and was re-authorised in 2018, was slated to expire on 31 March 2023, but was granted interim authorisation days before it was up, allowing it to continue while the competition watchdog made a more substantive determination.

Ella Watson from Western Australia, and Spencer Holmes and Joshua Kilgour from Queensland, will each receive up to $5,000 to go towards earning their Civil Aviation Safety Regulation (CASR) Part 66 engineer licences.