It’s hoped the innovation – also created by the Belgium-headquartered ILIAS Solutions – will provide maintainers with access to past, present and future information on the fleet’s readiness.

The planes are necessary for the Flying Kangaroo to increase capacity and launch new routes in time for the crucial Europe and North American summer season.

1 Recruit Training Unit (1RTU) will reduce from 11 weeks to nine, while RAAF Officer Training School will go down from 17 to 12 weeks.

Pre-pandemic, China was New Zealand's second-largest international visitor market, with 450,000 visitors in 2019 and one of the most valuable in terms of holiday visitor spend, bringing in $1.5 billion.