Australian Aviation

Ground handlers at dnata have voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action after twice rejecting a pay deal. The TWU says 98 per cent of workers supported the protected industrial action ballot, which was filed at the end of October, after knocking back the same proposed agreement from dnata twice by margins of 92 per cent and 94 per cent respectively. https://lnkd.in/gqtUgd-D

Retired RAAF Air Vice-Marshal Steven “Zed” Roberton has officially assumed the role of chief executive for Lockheed Martin Australia and New Zealand. Roberton takes over from Warren “Macca” McDonald, who is retiring after a distinguished career. Following a transitional handover period, Roberton now reports to Ray Piselli, vice president international business at Lockheed Martin. https://lnkd.in/gGYnxwdA

Transport Minister Catherine King has joined calls for Qantas to restart international services from Adelaide. Speaking to Adelaide’s FiveAA radio, the minister agreed that Qantas “should do better” in the city, which currently hosts nine other international carriers, and indicated she would be willing to press the Flying Kangaroo to bring back international flights. https://lnkd.in/gwYedf2J

Turkish Airlines has arrived in Sydney for the first time, opening a new link to Europe via the Middle East. The maiden flight TK174 touched down at 6:18pm on Friday evening aboard the 777-300ER TC-LJK, having flown from Istanbul via Kuala Lumpur. Flights will operate three times per week, increasing to five next year, with non-stop services expected to begin in 2026. https://lnkd.in/d_cmhc_P

The Royal Australian Air Force has completed its longest non-stop flight on record with a KC-30A multi-role tanker transport aircraft travelling from Australia to Spain. The KC-30A originally took off from RAAF Base Amberley before travelling more than 23.3 hours, with two refuelling brackets supplied from a second RAAF KC-30A, to Jerez, Spain. https://lnkd.in/gdtKUmyp

Qantas’ first A321XLR is on the final assembly line ahead of its scheduled April 2025 delivery. VH-OGA, “Great Ocean Road”, has seen its forward and rear fuselage, wings, and tail assembled among other major airframe components at Airbus’ facility in Hamburg, Germany. It is the first of 28 firm orders for the A321XLR, which will replace Qantas’ 737-800 fleet over the next decade. https://lnkd.in/gy5CAJud

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Virgin Australia has been given a temporary green light to sell tickets on 28 weekly return Doha flights under wet-lease with Qatar Airways. The ACCC’s interim authorisation will allow the airlines to market and sell the flights between Doha and Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, with east coast flights to commence in June 2025 and Perth flights to follow in November. https://lnkd.in/gEXVMs_a

Defence has deployed two Royal Australian Air Force P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft to conduct patrols in the North Indian Ocean and South China Sea under Operation Gateway. Operation Gateway, Australia’s longest running Defence operation, deploys a number of RAAF P-8A aircraft to Royal Malaysian Air Force Base Butterworth each year. https://lnkd.in/g4xTHuXK

The Government’s Sydney Airport slot reforms have passed Parliament, the first major changes to the system in a quarter of a century. The legislation, approved by the Senate on Thursday after passing the House last week, introduces steeper penalties for airlines that “misuse” takeoff slots, compels carriers to increase transparency about their slot use, and creates a “recovery period” after significant disruptions. https://lnkd.in/gJ-HFeVu