Australian Aviation

The IASC’s decision clears the final major hurdle for Virgin and Qatar following the approval of Qatar’s 25 per cent stake in Virgin by the Foreign Investment Review Board and a draft determination by the ACCC that it would not oppose the potential arrangement.

Speaking at The Australian Financial Review’s 2025 Business Summit, Hudson said it was important for Qantas to overhaul its fleet given the delays in receiving its new A321XLRs and A220s. The Flying Kangaroo currently operates five A220s, with its first A321XLR to arrive later this year.

Emerson, a 21-year veteran of Virgin owner Bain Capital’s sister consultancy firm Bain & Company, was brought in as CCO in 2021. He will replace outgoing CEO Jayne Hrdlicka, who announced her departure from the top job last year.

The Queensland grants come after the federal government has so far poured more than $17 million into regional airports across NSW, Victoria and Western Australia, also as part of the fourth round of the Regional Airports Program.

The milestone includes combat operations conducted by all three variants of the aircraft. Notably, November 2024 marked the first time the carrier-based F-35C was deployed in combat, successfully striking targets in contested airspace.

The Australian Space Agency said an alert was issued because the re-entry of the Stage II Soyuz 2-1B Fregat mirrored a “near-identical” mission in August 2023.