Australian Aviation

The funding will be used to upgrade the runway at Whyalla Airport in regional South Australia, which was last year at the centre of the high-profile “Rexit” stoush between Rex and the local council over enhanced security screening.

The planes landed at RAAF Base Williamtown between November and December as part of Operation Lightning Ferry, bringing the Air Force’s total F-35A contingent to 72.

Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth Airports are bracing for potential post-COVID-19 highs in traveller numbers between 13 December and 27 January, with the holiday season tipped to be the busiest since at least 2019 at around 15.9 million passengers.

Airline Team Global Express said transporting the pair required “months of detailed planning” and “international collaboration”, while a vet was also on board the aircraft to assist.

Born in Melbourne, His Honour Austin Asche AC KC spent his early years in Darwin and Melbourne, serving in the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II, and later earned a bachelor and master of laws from the University of Melbourne.

 The CAC Boomerang is Australia’s only home-designed and manufactured fighter. In this exclusive extract from his new book, Don Williams tells the story of how this quiet legend proved its doubters wrong in service with the RAAF.