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Australia aviation news

Queensland Police Service to add three Bell 429s, taking its POLAIR Fleet to six Bell aircraft

At Avalon Australian International Airshow Bell Textron announced the Queensland Police Service has entered into a second service provision contract for QPS POLAIR services for three additional Bell 429s, which will expand the number of Bell helicopters in its current fleet to six. In 2022, contract provider Surf Life Saving Queensland signed for three Bell 429s, operating the QPS P...

Bombardier grows service network in Australia, adding line maintenance station in Perth

Bombardier has added a new Line Maintenance Station in Perth, Australia, further complementing its customer service footprint in the region and expanding its network of certified aircraft technicians. The company is also planning to open a second LMS in Sydney, Australia, later this year. The new Perth Line Maintenance Station brings Bombardier’s worldwide LMS presence to 10, provi...

Skyportz releases vertipad patent that enables new urban landing sites for air taxis

Skyportz released its innovative vertipad patent that ameliorates downwash and outwash at Avalon International Airshow in Melbourne. The modular vertipad patent addresses one of the stand-out issues for Advanced Air Mobility in urban locations – amelioration of downwash and outwash. This issue has been highlighted by the FAA in January in their Engineering Brief 105A where the...

ACL wins slot management contract at Sydney Airport

ACL Asia Pacific, part of the Airport Coordination Limited group, confirms its appointment as slot management provider at Australia’s Sydney Airport (SYD), effective 1 April 2025.  The award follows a competitive process initiated by the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government.  It is a strategically important win for ACL, introdu...

Embraer returns to Avalon Australian International Airshow 2025

Embraer marks its presence in Australia at the Avalon Airshow from 25 to 30 March 2025, reflecting Embraer’s relevance and long-standing presence in the market with E-Jets and Embraer’s portfolio of business jets. Australia’s Embraer fleet will soon grow with the delivery of eight E190-E2s for Virgin Australia’s. Today there are nearly 50 E-Jets and 20 Embraer business...

Skytrans receives AOC to commence ACMI operations with narrow-body aircraft

Skytrans has recently received an AOC to commence operations with narrow-body aircraft in the region. It marks a key milestone in the airline’s operational capabilities and strategic expansion as it recently welcomed its first Airbus A319 to its fleet. Forecasts predict that total domestic air passenger travel in Australia will grow by approximately 2.6% per year, expecting to surp...

Expanding capabilities in Australia - Textron Aviation to open new service facility at Essendon Fields Airport

Textron Aviation expands of its footprint in Australia with the construction of a larger and modernized service facility at Essendon Fields Airport in Melbourne to maximize support for Cessna, Beechcraft and Hawker customers in the region. The new facility will add more space for servicing aircraft, aiding in faster scheduling with minimal down time to keep customers flying. Construction is s...

Qantas marks new era for airline with uniform redesign set for the runway

Qantas is embarking on a major uniform redesign for the first time in over a decade as the national carrier ramps up its historic fleet renewal program, continues to invest in customers and prepares to conquer the final frontier of aviation with the launch of Project Sunrise. The airline cements its path to an ambitious future ahead, it will begin to overhaul one of the most visual representa...

First apprentices start training at new Qantas Group Engineering Academy in Brisbane

The Flying Kangaroo new Engineering Academy will officially open its doors in Brisbane today, welcoming the first new intake of apprentices. The Academy will train the next generation of aircraft engineers through an updated training program developed by Qantas and Aviation Australia designed to increase the number of apprentices that can be trained each year. Under the new Academy trainin...

Qantas Group pilot training set to soar in new Sydney flight training centre

Qantas and CAE have officially opened Sydney’s new purpose-built flight training centre today, where thousands of new and existing Qantas and Jetstar pilots will train each year. The facility in St Peters near Sydney Airport is now home to five full-flight simulators, three fixed training devices and ten classrooms. Further tranches of training equipment will arrive in the coming years, incl...

End of an era: Qantas marks final day of 717 flying in Australia

26th October marks the end of an era for the Qantas Group with the last remaining QantasLink Boeing 717 jet taking passengers to Australian skies for the final time. The final flight (QF1511) landed in Canberra at approximately 18:00 this evening, operated by a crew with a long and proud history operating this aircraft and more than 100 years combined experience flying the 717 in Au...

Qantas to invest more than $40 million in the future of aviation with new skills and training initiatives

Qantas Group will invest more than $40 million across a range of new initiatives to train the next generation of Australian aviation talent and accelerate skills across the airline and broader industry, including: New Qantas Group Safety Academy set to launch in 2025 $40 million investment in cabin safety training assets and new facilities across Australia Doubling the number of Pilot Ac...