Announced by Minister for Transport Catherine King, the government has signed updated air services deals with the Maldives, El Salvador, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.

International passenger numbers at the airport have decreased by 7.1 per cent between April 2025 and April 2026, alongside a 67.6 per cent drop in seats from the Middle East in the same period.

Zinc Airlines, a project by Peter Kelly, who ran both Ansett’s Golden Wing Club and Qantas Frequent Flyer and helped establish Jetstar before moving into aviation consulting, is seeking to raise $200 million for what is described as a business model patterned on Ryanair.

Services from both Melbourne and Adelaide to Bali will be axed from 18 June, with Captain Achmad Sadikin Abdurachman, general manager of Indonesia AirAsia, saying the decision was “not made lightly, but the current operating environment has made these routes no longer viable”.