An international Qantas flight has been forced to turn back after reports of a "vibrating" engine, the second incident of its kind in five days. QF61, flying from Brisbane to Tokyo Narita, scheduled to take off at 10.45 on Saturday morning, backtracked to Brisbane about half an hour into the nine-and-a-quarter hour journey to the Japanese capital. A Qantas spokespers...
Qantas declined to give further information about the passenger and the circumstances around his death for privacy reasons. A passenger has died aboard a Qantas jet bound for Dubai, the airline said Saturday (Apr 9), with the man reportedly suffering from a heart attack mid-air. Flight QF9, which was travelling from Melbourne Friday, was diverted to Muscat, Oman for the medical emergen...
Training medical professionals for in-flight care on board the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) has taken a giant leap forward, with the announcement on Friday of an $18 million facility at the service's base in Dubbo. RFDS chief medical officer Dr Randall Greenberg believes the one-of-a kind facility will bring great benefits to rural healthcare in Australia. "We can practice doi...
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association of Australia (AOPA) president Marc De Stoop has presented the federal government with a nine-point plan to support and revitalise the nation’s general aviation (GA) sector, including proposed changes to the nation’s aviation safety regulator and the privatisation of Airservices. The reforms are outlined in brief to government called Project Eur...
Australian national carrier Qantas Airlines has partnered with Tesla for a new collaboration to promote sustainability initiatives. The partnership officially launched this weekend, well timed to follow the reveal of Tesla’s new Model S electric vehicle. To mark the new partnership, Qantas held a runway race at Avalon Airport between one of its Boeing 737 aircraft and a Tesla S P9...
Commercial drone operators will no longer need remote pilot licences or certificates to use the unmanned aircraft on certain flights when new laws come into force later this year. The relaxed regulations, due to come into force in September, are part of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority's plans to "cut red tape" and accommodate rising popularity in the remote piloted aircraft se...
The Royal Australian Navy is looking to acquire an interim vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aircraft system (UAS). A request for tender (RFT) for the Navy Minor Project (NMP) 1942, released on the AusTender website on February 26 (with a closing date of April 11), seeks to procure a “proven” VTOL ‘Maritime Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System &nd...
Australia’s customs and immigration workers have launched strikes at Australian airports, following a postponement over the Easter travel period due to security concerns. A series of short strikes at major international gateways began March 30. The Community and Public Sector Union had previously planned industrial action before and during Easter, including a 24-hour walkout at all int...
Air New Zealand plans to boost capacity between Perth and Christchurch when it uses the 787-9 Dreamliner on the seasonal route from December. Previously, Air NZ’s Perth-Christchurch flights, which operate during the summer months, have been flown with 230-seat Boeing 767-300ERs comprising 24 in business and 206 in economy. However, the airline said on Tuesday it would deploy the 787-9s...
Sunshine Coast Airport’s proposed new runway will allow the fast-growing airport to open new markets and ease operational constraints on existing airlines flying to the Queensland tourist destination, the local council and tourism body says. The new runway at the council-owned airport is the centrepiece of a $347 million expansion project which is still waiting for final approvals. The...
Virgin Australia has tapped its four major shareholders for a $A425 million loan facility as part of a fresh review of its balance sheet. The 12-month, $A425 million loan facility with Air New Zealand, Etihad Airways, Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Sir Richard Branson’s UK-based Virgin Group would provide the company with “additional flexibility in the short-term” as it conducts...
A firepower demonstration conducted at Puckapunyal on Friday as part of the RAAF’s Exercise Jericho Dawn series has successfully validated the use of Northrop Grumman’s ‘airborne gateway’ technology, carried on a Gulfstream II demonstrator aircraft, to allow data to be shared between various ADF platforms including F/A-18F Super Hornets, Tiger ARH helicopters and the Wedget...
