Jake Nelson

As part of its ongoing investigation into January’s fatal Gold Coast helicopter crash, the ATSB issued a Safety Advisory Notice to aircraft lifejacket manufacturers and national aviation certification authorities recommending better guidance on how constant wear lifejackets should be fitted.

International traffic at Sydney was at 89.7 per cent of 2019 levels in August, compared to domestic at 88.0 per cent. In total, the airport saw an 88.6 per cent recovery on pre-pandemic traffic, with the strong international numbers driven particularly by Asian travel.

Goyder issued a number of mea culpas on behalf of the group in his chairman’s message, including on the Flying Kangaroo’s reliability, the ACCC’s court action over cancelled flights, and the High Court’s decision on the outsourcing of almost 1,700 ground workers in 2020-21.

The former Qantas CEO is having $2.2 million in short-term bonuses withheld, with a total of $14.4 million in incentives subject to malus and clawback when coupled with long-term bonuses he was already granted. The group has reduced its senior executives’ bonuses by 20 per cent, with the remainder to be withheld while an ACCC court case proceeds.

Speaking before the Senate Select Committee on Bilateral Air Service Agreements (ASAs), Geoff Culbert revealed that, though Australia’s agreement with the UAE allows for 168 flights per week into the four main gateways of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, only 84 of these are being used.

The point-to-point airline will fly between Darwin and its two Queensland bases at the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast, as well as between Melbourne and Alice Springs, for a total of 12 flights per week and 116,000 seats per year to and from the Northern Territory.