Jake Nelson

Under the arrangements, Rex’s debt will be restructured, with $90 million owed to the government set to be carried forward in a profit-sharing arrangement, while another $60 million loan will be extended to help with engine care and maintenance in bringing more Saab 340Bs back into service.

In their report released on Monday night, the voluntary administrators from EY Australia recommended the approval of the Air T deal despite the lack of return to ordinary unsecured creditors, saying it would nonetheless achieve a better outcome than Rex Group being wound up.

Paul Lindwall, who presided over the Productivity Commission’s 2019 Economic Regulation of Airports inquiry, has cast doubt on SAF’s environmental credentials, calling it in an op-ed in the Australian Financial Review “an expensive, inefficient distraction from viable alternatives”.

The NSW Ambulance Aeromedical Rescue Helicopter service, operated by Toll since 2017, has flown over 24,000 critical care missions with its fleet of eight Leonardo AW139 helicopters, and performs more than 2,500 patient missions per year.

Airport Coordination Limited (ACL), which took over slot management in Sydney on 1 April, has welcomed the changes which became law at the end of October, saying they will “deliver significantly greater transparency” and ensure airlines do not “game the system”.

The flight, operated by Beechcraft 1900D VH-JYA, left Cairns shortly before 9:30am on Monday, and touched down at Hamilton Island just over an hour later. East Air is currently operating Monday and Thursday services, with Sunday flights set to commence in February.