The inaugural flight JQ489 took off from Newcastle just before 4pm on Tuesday aboard Jetstar’s A320-200 VH-VFX, touching down in Hobart around two hours later. Flights will operate three times per week until 21 April 2026, for a total of around 22,000 seats.

In its final report into the accident, which killed both pilots of the Robinson R22 helicopters VH-HQH and VH-HYQ at Mount Anderson Station in the Kimberley on 25 July 2024, the ATSB found that operator Pearl Coast Helicopters had not set appropriate separation standards.

Speaking to ABC Radio in Sydney, the minister said that while a scheme similar to EU 261 – which forces airlines to compensate passengers for delays and cancellations within their control – works in a populous region like Europe, the Australian market is too small to sustain one.

The Flying Kangaroo will operate two 737 services per week from Sydney to Port Moresby starting in March, adding around 35,000 seats per year and complementing existing Brisbane-Port Moresby flights. It comes ahead of the entry of the Papua New Guinea Chiefs to the NRL in 2028.