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.
It comes as data from the Department of Transport show Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane are still falling below pre-pandemic levels.
The first two aircraft to undergo the ‘Increment 3’ modification will be upgraded in Jacksonville, Florida, with the remainder of the fleet of 12 to be completed at RAAF Base Edinburgh, South Australia.
The descent was controlled by an auto-flight system that had to be disconnected when the aircraft dipped to 480 ft below the minimum safe level and wouldn’t respond to crew instruction.
The QF9 service – one of the world’s longest – will now stop over in Singapore because the 787’s range isn’t long enough to divert around the Middle East.