Australian Aviation

Australian Aviation can reveal that hundreds of professionals have now left post-pandemic to work for carriers such as budget airlines Spirit and Breeze, freight operators Kalitta Air and Atlas and regional offshoots such as CommutAir and PSA.

The 787, VH-ZNH, departed the Victorian capital at 2:27 pm as flight QF21 and represents Melbourne’s first non-stop connection to a North American city that’s not on the west coast.

The new federal government recently relisted the $4.1 billion OneSKY program as a “project of concern” amid what it called “significant schedule, technical and cost challenges”. It’s now reported to be delayed by two years and won’t launch until at least 2025.

Qantas and Virgin were involved in a remarkable court battle over Rohrlach’s services last year, after he accepted a senior role at Qantas Frequent Flyer, before ultimately taking the top job at Velocity.

The United Firefighters Union aviation secretary Wes Garrett said the “in principle” agreement would also include boosting the number of airport firefighters.

The ground handling firm appeared to confirm the authenticity of the footage that went viral on social media over the weekend, branding the incident “disrespectful” and unacceptable”.