APRIL 13, 2026. AUSTRALIA

GAM Air to acquire Alpine Air 1900D converted Superfreighter

Australian charter airline GAM Air is acquiring a Beechcraft 1900D freighter from Utah’s Alpine Air Express. The transaction is the time the aircraft converter and cargo carrier has sold a plane to an Australian customer.

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APRIL 13, 2026. AUSTRALIA

New routes, more flights from Launceston Airport

Launceston Airport is adding two new destinations to its departures board, with Link Airways about to start Launceston –
Canberra flights and Sharp Airlines saying it will begin non-stop services between Tasmania's second largest city and King Island.

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Aero South Pacific New Zealand Airport Briefs available for download

Aero South Pacific has added airport briefs covering New Zealand's five busiest airports. The briefs, which you can download for free, provide an informative snapshot of scheduled regular passenger transport and passenger charter activity at New Zealand’s busiest airports. You'll find the drop down menu containing our airport briefs at the top of this page

  • Fiji Airways Israel charter lawsuit returns to court

    APRIL 10, 2026: Suva’s High Court has heard arguments about whether parties who chartered a Fiji Airways jet to fly pilgrims to Israel and back in 2023 should have to pay the multi-million-dollar amount still owed.

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  • Stranded Qatar Airways B777-300ERs return to Doha

    APRIL 9, 2026: Four Qatar Airways B777s temporarily parked at Brisbane Airport have returned to Doha, with three resuming scheduled services. Flight tracking data shows the jets spent around one week at Brisbane before returning to Doha.

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  • Grounded A330-900 disrupts Aircalin’s ops

    APRIL 8, 2026: An A330-900 that unexpectedly went out-of-service is disrupting Aircalin’s schedules, resulting in flight cancellations, rescheduling, and the airline calling in other operators to help.

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  • Chinese airlines cut winter 2026 Southwest Pacific flights

    APRIL 8, 2026: Chinese airlines are scaling back services to Australia and New Zealand ahead of the upcoming Southern Hemisphere winter, reflecting seasonal demand trends across the Southwest Pacific aviation market.

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April 2026 News Briefs

APRIL 13, 2026: Guam’s Fly MACS has cancelled all flights on April 13 and 14 due to expected severe weather from Tropical Storm Sinlaku.

Read the news release here.

APRIL 13, 2026: A Qantas B737-800 flying from Canberra (CBR) to Perth (PER) on April 10, 2026, diverted to Adelaide (ADL) after crew detected fumes on board and passengers saying they felt unwell. The aircraft, VH-VZC (msn 34197) landed safely. Once on the ground, no passengers or crew required further medical attention.

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APRIL 13, 2026: The Solomon Islands Government is holding public hearings about upgrading Suavanao Airport (VAO) in Isabel Province. Planned works include unexploded ordnance surveys, improved drainage systems, elevating and resealing the runway, taxiway, and apron with bituminous surfacing, installation of ground lighting, application of airfield markings, and construction of a new terminal.

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APRIL 10, 2026: The Western Australia State Government will cover additional fuel costs for airlines operating subsidised Regional Airfare Zone Cap (RAZC) routes, ensuring air fares do not rise. Aviar, Nexus Airlines, and Regional Express are among the carriers operating intra-state passenger routes under the scheme.

Read the news release here.

APRIL 10, 2026: Tonga’s Ministry of Infrastructure is seeking expressions of interest from contractors to help review and upgrade the Civil Aviation Office Quality Management System.

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APRIL 9, 2026: Air Chathams CEO Duane Emeny says the regional carrier will reduce its North Island flights in response to rising fuel prices. Effective April 20, the airline will suspend about 45% of flights into Whakatāne (WKH), 22% of flights into Whanganui (WAG) and 10% into Kāpiti (PPQ). Air Chathams’ fuel bill has doubled to over NZD1 million in recent weeks.

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APRIL 8, 2026: Construction ofa new Royal Flying Doctor Service aeromedical facility at Launceston Airport (LST) has started. The AUD21 million base will support aeromedical retrieval services across Tasmania and enable the delivery of a range of health care services to rural and remote communities, including the Bass Strait Island communities.

Read the news release here.

APRIL 7, 2026: Air New Zealand cut domestic capacity beyond the previously announced early May date through to the end of June. Air New Zealand says this remains a short-term response to the current fuel volatility. The reductions will see around 4% of flights cut.

Read the news report here.

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APRIL 7, 2026. NEW CALEDONIA

Air Calédonie director asks government for bail out

Air Calédonie director Daniel Houmbouy has told a government committee that the domestic airline expects to start insolvency proceedings this week. He said the court will decide whether to liquidate Air Calédonie or give it time to submit a restructuring plan.

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APRIL 3, 2026. AUSTRALIA

Gov’t funding backing Air New Zealand’s Western Sydney flights

Government funding has helped lock in Air New Zealand flights to Western Sydney Airport (WSI). The kiwi carrier has set October 26, 2026, as the start date for thrice-weekly narrowbody flights between Auckland (AKL) and the new airport.

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April 2026 Aircraft Movements

APRIL 13, 2026: Air Moana is ferrying in its fourth ATR72-600. The leased aircraft, F-OREV (msn 1553) departed Toulouse (QYF) on April 11, local time, for Papeete (PPT) and, at the time of publication is at Almaty (ALA)

APRIL 3, 2026: Virgin Australia’s third E190-E2 is ferrying to Australia over the Easter weekend. The aircraft, VH-E2C (msn 19020209), departed the Embrarer facility at Sao Jose dos Campos Airport (SJK) on April 1 and is expected to arrive in Perth (PER) on April 6. The aircraft will be operated by Virgin Australia Regional Airlines (VARA).

APRIL 2, 2026: Jetstar’s first refurbished B787-8 has returned to Australia. VH-VKK (msn 36237) ferried from Hong Kong (HKG) to Melbourne (MEL) on April 1/2. The aircraft is the first of eleven Jetstar B787-8s to undergo a cabin refurbishment.

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MARCH 30, 2026. AUSTRALIA

New laws to tackle Australia’s aviation complaints process

The Australian Government is seeking to appease both the aviation industry and passengers with new laws that will seek to streamline the consumer complaints process while not over-burdening the industry.

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April 2026 Route Briefs

APRIL 7, 2026: Solomon Airlines has introduced a second weekly A320-200 operated Luganville (SON) – Brisbane (BNE) round-trip, effective April 4, 2026.

APRIL 2, 2026: Air New Zealand will commence thrice-weekly Auckland (AKL) - Western Sydney (WSI) round-trips on October 26, 2026. The flights will use a mix of A320-200N and A321-200NX aircraft.

APRIL 2, 2026: Having suspended its Guangzhou (CAN) – Darwin (DRW) flights during April, China Southern now says it will resume services in May with only one weekly round-trip rather than the previous thrice weekly round-trips.

APRIL 1, 2026: Fiji Airways will increase its A330-300 operated Nadi (NAN) – Vancouver (YVR) round-trips to three per week from June 16. 2026. The airline also says British Airways will start codesharing on the route from the same date.

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APRIL 2, 2026. PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Gurney Airport’s terminal upgrade nears completion

Papua New Guinea’s National Airport Corporation (NAC) says work on the new terminal building at Gurney Airport (GUR) is almost three quarters complete. The NAC says the work should be completed by August 2026

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