In its Australian Aviation Network Overview report for April 2026, Airservices Australia revealed Australia saw 2,475 daily average passenger flights last month, up just 0.2 per cent on the previous year, with domestic regional flights dropping by 4.1 per cent.

In the 2026 Budget, announced this week, $38.1 million over four years from 2026–27 and $7.3 million per year ongoing was earmarked for the government’s consumer protection priorities, as well as $4.5 million over four years to continue the ACCC’s domestic airline monitoring program.

Around 150 employees at Sydney and Brisbane Airports, currently employed by Qantas subsidiaries Eastern and Sunstate, would be affected by the new arrangements, which the union says would bump their pay by around 30 per cent and “close a long-standing loophole” that lowered wages.

Warrant Officer Class Two Lachlan Muddle, 50, was fatally involved in a mid-air collision with another soldier on Monday evening, Defence has confirmed. Muddle was a highly skilled, experienced paratrooper, and had served in the Special Air Service (SAS) regiment.