In its latest Domestic Airline Competition report, the consumer watchdog found flights on services between metropolitan cities were 90.4 per cent full in November 2024, the highest since January 2019, when the ACCC’s data began.

ACL manages slots at 75 airports around the world, such as London Heathrow and Dubai, and is owned by a consortium including British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, and easyJet. It will replace Airport Coordination Australia (ACA), which has handled Sydney’s slots for the past quarter century.

The competition and consumer watchdog, which granted an interim authorisation to the deal last year that has allowed Virgin and Qatar Airways to sell tickets on the flights, believes the arrangement is “likely to result in public benefits and is unlikely to result in any public detriment”.

The 3,343-square-metre Hangar 83, slated to open in 2026, will be twice the size of Textron’s current maintenance facility at Essendon Fields, and will be located on the southern apron to eliminate the need for use of the airport’s jet crossing. Construction is scheduled to begin next month.