It follows the Hong Kong Free Press reporting in January that airlines are struggling to increase flights due to staff shortages at the airport, and ground handling companies upping fees.
The deployment is part of Operation Argos to enforce United Nations Security Council sanctions on North Korea and deter illegal ship-to-ship transfers of sanctioned goods in the region.
January’s launch was the first outside the company’s home airport in the Mojave Desert, California, and significantly came before it plans a demonstrator launch at Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport in 2024.
The Australian government initially announced its intention to sell the aircraft to Air USA – now rebranded as RAVN Aerospace – in March 2020, with initial delivery three or four years from that date.
The union says those coming back would return to lower-paying jobs because they lost out on previous union agreements after having departed.
The Flying Kangaroo was forced to cancel or turn back services on Tuesday after Auckland Airport suspended all operations.