The airline, Africa’s largest, is planning at least two Australian routes to the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, though will seek to expand its fleet of wide-body jets first. The route would likely open up another connection from Australia to Europe, as well as into the African continent.

January saw 688,534 international arrivals come through Melbourne, around half of the 1,261,361 total international travellers, alongside 2,115,518 domestic passengers; this makes for Melbourne’s third busiest month for overall passenger numbers on record, behind December and January 2025.

Speaking to news.com.au, Jetstar’s head of network and fleet, Ted Knight, said that the current policy – which allows passengers up to 7kg of cabin bags for free – could be updated to add more weight, or switch to a size-based allowance as seen on many US carriers.

The Australian-designed and manufactured MQ-28A Ghost Bat aircraft program is moving forward after deploying an aircraft to fire an AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile against an Australian-made Phoenix Jet uncrewed aerial target late last year.