The NSW government admitted it’s still only “currently investigating” the potential for a pipeline to launch in the “early 2030s” – despite the terminal opening in 2026.

Defence said in a statement that the bad weather would have made “launch or landing unsafe” for the highly-anticipated display.

Domestic aviation continually broke all-time records for poor performance in April, June and July, but airports and airlines have spent the last few months recruiting more staff to cope with increased demand.

Rex was the top performing airline for flights departing on time in August – with Jetstar the worst. Darwin is Australia's worst-performing major airport, with just 34 per cent of its 119 flights leaving on time.