Australian Aviation can reveal that airlines will only need to fly 70 per cent of their allocated take-off times in order to prevent rivals from taking over the service until late October.
The troops will conduct Marine Rotational Force – Darwin until October, and this year’s contingent will consist of personnel from the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, based in California.
The Indonesian island is Jetstar’s most popular international destination and its recent ticket sale there saw its biggest surge in bookings since 2016.
It’s not yet known whether the two new services will spell the end of the current layover in Darwin, which Qantas has repeatedly hinted could remain in some capacity.
It comes after 96 per cent of shareholders in the airport voted to accept the $23.6 billion takeover bid in February, with investors having now pocketed $8.75 per share, and the airport delisted from the ASX as of market close on Thursday.
According to a report Australian Transport Safety Bureau, the flight crew of a Rex Saab 340 did not detect the aircraft’s reducing airspeed, prompting the stick shaker warning, while attempting to respond to a separate fault.