Dubbed “Wilbur Air”, the “e-airline” will have priority access to the Skyportz vertiport network, with a “range of aircraft partners” to provide services including short- and long-range passenger transport and heavy-lift drone deliveries.

The facility in the Latrobe Aerospace Technology Precinct at Latrobe Regional Airport, backed by investment from the Victorian state government, will be used for Dovetail’s goal of retrofitting regional aircraft with batteries and hydrogen fuel cells for zero-emissions aviation.

The 12-week overhaul, set to begin on 24 June, will replace 18 ageing concrete slabs on the runway threshold that have reached the end of their life. The runway will be shortened from 3.5km to 2.7km during the works, meaning larger international aircraft will need to use Brisbane’s parallel runway.

The Flying Kangaroo has had the route to itself post-pandemic, with the latest data from the Department of Transport showing it boasted load factors of 90 per cent outbound – its fourth-highest for an international destination.