Operated by 16th Aviation Brigade, the exercise served as an opportunity for crew to test the handling of the utility helicopter in the high-altitude and highly dense mountain ranges of PNG, which Defence dubbed one of the region’s “most challenging aviation environments”.

The upgraded check-in area includes 18 automated kiosks, 10 bag drop units, and a dedicated oversized baggage drop, all provided by Elenium Automation. It comes after the airport last week opened its new arrivals area and baggage claim.

Disability advocate Shane Hryhorec was offloaded from a Virgin flight in August after cabin crew mistook his wheelchair’s SmartDrive power assist for a battery, with the airline later apologising when Hryhorec posted a video of his experience.

Two work stoppages are planned for 16 October – one for 6am–10am, and one for 5pm–9pm – with workers demanding “more full-time jobs, fairer rostering, and no cuts to part-time hours”. It follows strikes from Certis security screening staff and work safety officers in Sydney last month.