The United Firefighters Union of Australia – Aviation Branch said the sale and leaseback proposal would “effectively privatise” Australia’s aviation rescue firefighting service, a charge which provider Airservices Australia rejects.

The Flying Kangaroo, which currently flies up to daily to Vancouver, is seeking “unrestricted passenger capacity on the Canada route for a period of 99 years” for itself, its subsidiaries including Jetstar, and codeshare flights with partners American Airlines and WestJet.

The PNG flag carrier’s first A220, P2-PGA, landed in Sydney as flight PX1 from Port Moresby at 6pm on Sunday, replacing the 737-800s and 767-300s that formerly operated the service. It is the second international route for Air Niugini’s A220s, with Port Moresby-Cairns commencing last week.

The establishment of the European headquarters is considered a significant step in the company’s long‑term commitment to Europe as a fast‑growing EU and NATO-aligned market.