Flight VA733 on Thursday was the first service to allow pets to be transported in the cabin, with the trial to run until 30 January 2026 so feedback can be gathered from passengers. The airline aims to have the option rolled out across all domestic flights by late next year.

Under Operation Kudu, the early warning and control aircraft, deployed in July, had operated out of Poland to support NATO in providing surveillance, communications, and early warning alerts to protect supply delivery lines into Ukraine.

The single-engine Cessna 150M, VH-WWU, was flying from Geraldton to Shark Bay in Western Australia on 21 March when it entered a spiral dive and hit the ground near Ogilvie. The pilot, who died in the accident, had been “acutely unwell” and was likely still symptomatic, the ATSB said.

The Airtourer Association will honour the CT-4 at the President's Fly-in in Tamworth from 17 to 19 October, highlighting its significance in military flight training across the Asia-Pacific since the 1970s.