Jake Nelson

VH-XNP (similar aircraft pictured) was en route to Townsville as flight JQ904, having departed Brisbane at 6:46am on 23 May, when it turned around due to the odd smell. The latter was later identified as hydraulic fluid from recent scheduled maintenance on the nine-year-old aircraft.

Flight AB1031 touched down in Mackay at 6:54pm on Tuesday night on Bonza’s fourth Boeing 737 MAX, VH-UKH, nicknamed ‘Malc’. The launch of the Tullamarine–Mackay route caps off what Bonza says is the biggest route map rollout in Australian aviation history, covering 27 routes to 17 destinations across three states.

The agency has suspended the use of its DJI drones, which have been blacklisted by the US military and have also been suspended by Australia’s Department of Defence, Home ­Affairs chief operating officer Justine Saunders confirmed in Senate estimates this week.

Culbert, who took the top job in 2018 after 15 years at GE, said the time is right to hand over the reins as Sydney Airport completes its post-pandemic recovery. The airport will now undertake a global search to find his successor.

TWU National Secretary Michael Kaine said the forecast was the result of the airline “bleeding dry workers, passengers and the taxpaying public”, and lambasted Qantas for increasing its share buyback scheme by $100 million.

Parker is one of the key figures in the consolidation of the US aviation market in the early 2000s. He served as CEO of American Airlines from 2013 to 2021 and has more than 35 years of aviation experience, having worked in airlines since 1986 and in CEO positions from 2001 onwards.