FEBRUARY 25, 2026. PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Tropicair Twin Otter loses nose wheel gear after take-off

A Twin Otter DHC-6-300 operated by Papua New Guinea’s Tropicair lost its nose wheel gear shortly after take-off from Tapini Airport (TPI) on January 22, 2026, according to a preliminary report from the PNG Accident Investigation Commission.

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FEBRUARY 24, 2026. AUSTRALIA

Australian Gov’t ignored local carriers keen to take over Rex

Australia’s transport minister ignored a plan by the Regional Aviation Association of Australia (RAAA) for some of its member airlines to take over Rex’s regional routes following the airline filing for administration, according to RAAA Chairman Malcom Sharp.

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FEBRUARY 24, 2026. AUSTRALIA

Hobart Airport in “fruitful” talks with SQ, Cathay Pacific

The CEO of Hobart Airport says that talks are underway with Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific about flights to Tasmania. Yesterday, Norris Carter told a Senate Committee that Hobart’s recently extended runway makes flying there economically viable.

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FEBRUARY 23, 2026. AUSTRALIA

Qantas ferries in fourth A321XLR – with added toilet!

Qantas has ferried in its fourth A321 200XLR. The aircraft, VH-OGD (msn 12668) landed at Brisbane (BNE) on February 22, 2026, flying in from Hamburg (XFW) via Bangkok (BKK). Another three XLRs are due before June 30, 2026.

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Aero South Pacific Airport Briefs available for download

Aero South Pacific has released its first airport briefs covering Australia’s top 20 passenger airports. The briefs, which you can download for free, provide an informative snapshot of scheduled regular passenger transport and passenger charter activity at Australia’s busiest airports.

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FEBRUARY 20, 2026. AUSTRALIA

Red ink as Alliance Airlines posts $105mn half year loss

Alliance Airlines has reported a statutory after-tax net loss of AUD105.8 million for the six months to December 31, 2025. In a February 20, 2026, ASX filing, the specialist charter airline described the second half of last year as “challenging.”

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  • Qantas chair gets real on SAF uptake and sustainable aviation

    FEBRUARY 20, 2026: The Qantas chairman is bearish about aviation’s chances of cutting its environmental impact over the next 20 years. John Mullen says electric and hydrogen aircraft will only play a small role and SAF uptake will depend on government intervention.

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  • Auckland Airport releases 1H FY26 interim financial results

    FEBRUARY 19, 2026: Auckland Airport’s net underlying after-tax profit for the six months ended December 31, 2025, crept up 6% to NZD157.1 million (USD93.7 million) as the airport benefitted from steadily increasing passenger traffic and revenue.

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  • Air New Zealand wraps up next-gen demonstrator programme

    FEBRUARY 19, 2026: Air New Zealand says it completed over 100 flights during its four month Next Generation battery-electric BETA ALIA CX300 Aircraft Technical Demonstrator Programme undertaken in conjunction with BETA Technologies.

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  • Escrow conditions set to lift for Virgin Australia backers

    FEBRUARY 18, 2026: Virgin Australia is expecting to release a swathe of escrowed shares next month. Among the parties able to sell those shares, which represent over 12.1% of the airline’s issued stock, is majority shareholder, Bain Capital.

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February 2026 News Briefs

FEBRUARY 25, 2026: Pilots operating a Regional Express Saab 340B, VH-RXE (msn 275), working ZL6469 from Griffith (GFF) to Sydney (SYD) on February 22, 2026, observed some abnormal indications from the right hand engine and shut it down. The aircraft diverted to Parkes (PKS), where it landed safely. It has since resumed flying.

Read the news story here.

FEBRUARY 25, 2026: Melbourne Airport has announced an AUD4.5 billion expansion of its cramped international terminal. Among the upgrades are another five aircraft stands (capable of accommodating five widebody or eight narrowbody aircraft), a bigger check-in zone, and an expanded airside space. Work is expected to begin later this year.

Read the news release here.

FEBRUARY 25, 2025: The Western Australia Government will spend AUD12.5 million to build a new HQ and consolidate its emergency services aviation arms at Perth’s Jandakot Airport (JAD). The state's aerial fleet includes 38 aerial firefighting aircraft and three rescue helicopters.  The new site will be more than 8100m2 in size and include four hangars, office accommodation, training simulators, training rooms, amenities and crew rest areas.

Read the news release here.

FEBRUARY 24, 2026: Auckland Airport will not pursue its Airport Services Input Methodologies Merits Review lawsuit in the wake of a December 2025 High Court decision to not hear an appeal. The decision was buried on p.21 of the airport’s interim results presentation released late last week.

Read the results presentation here.

FEBRUARY 23, 2026: Approximately 200 people took to the streets of Nouméa on February 20, 2026, to protest Air Calédonie’s relocation to La Tontouta International Airport (NOU) on March 2.

Read the news story here.

FEBRUARY 20, 2026: Fiji Airways has appointed Narendra Kumar to its board of directors, effective from February 13, 2026. Kumar, who has extensive experience in tourism, aviation, governance, finance, transformation, replaces outgoing director, Daksesh Patel.

Read the news release here.

FEBRUARY 18, 2026: The Guam International Airport Authority says it has not received approximately USD9.2 million in aviation fuel tax payments due for 2018 through 2023 despite a law requiring its remittance, according to airport officials.

Read the news article here.

FEBRUARY 18, 2026: The board of PNG Air Limited appointed Gheno Minia as a non-executive director, effective December 22, 2025.  Minia was nominated by a new sophisticated shareholder, PNG Air- Pacific Balance Fund.

Read the stock exchange filing here.

FEBRUARY 18, 2026: Jetstar says it carried over 700,000 customers on trans-Tasman routes in 2025, an increase of 9% on the previous year. Factors driving the increase included marketing campaigns and the launch of four new trans-Tasman city pairs.

Read the news release here.

FEBRUARY 17, 2026: Melbourne Airport (MEL) says January 2026 was its busiest month on record for international arrivals, with 688,534 international arrivals passing through the airport last month, including a record 688,534 international arrivals on January 9.

Read the news release here.

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FEBRUARY 17, 2026. PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Air Niugini appoints new CEO, fails to squash B787 rumours

Air Niugini has appointed aviation veteran Alan Milne as CEO following the ousting of Gary Seddon. It is Milne’s second crack at Port Moresby’s top airline job, having previously served as Air Niugini’s CEO between 2018 and 2020.

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FEBRUARY 17, 2026. SOLOMON AIRLINES

Outgoing Solomon Airlines CEO says carrier is in peril

The outgoing interim Solomon Airlines CEO says 90% of its domestic inter-island
routes fail to cover their direct operating costs, let alone make a profit, highlighting the difficulties of operating in the Southwest Pacific.

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February 2026 Aircraft Movements

FEBRUARY 25, 2026: Virgin Australia is preparing to ferry in its next B737-8 and its first new aircraft this year. VH-8VG (msn 67037), has positioned into Melbourne (MLB) ahead of starting its ferry flight to Australia on March 1 and entering revenue service on March 7.

FEBRUARY 23, 2026: Another ex Qantas Group DHC-8-Q300 acquired by Avmax has ferried out of Australia, en-route to Canada. VH-TQL (msn 603) departed Alice Springs (ASP) on February 18, flying to X via Cairns (CNS), Majuro (MAJ) Kapolei (JRF), and Portland (PDX). Only a single Q300 acquired by Avmax remains in Australia.

FEBRUARY 17, 2026: Another ex Qantas Group DHC-8-Q300 has ferried out of Australia, bound for Canada via Europe. VH-SBB (msn 539) left Alice Springs (ASP) on February 12 and, at the time of publication, is at Sharm el-Sheikh (SSH). The aircraft was operated by Qantas subsidiary Eastern Australia Airlines in QantasLink livery.

FEBRUARY 16, 2026: Qantas Group subsidiary Network Aviation has donated a F100 to the HARS Aviation Museum at Parkes Airport (PKE). The now-retired aircraft, VH-NHO (msn 11312) ferried from Perth (PER) to Parkes on February 10, 2026.

FEBRUARY 11, 2026: Canada's Avmax Group has ferried another ex-Qantas Group DHC-8-Q300 to Canada. VH SBW (msn 599) flew from Alice Springs (ASP) to Calgary (YYC) via Cairns (CNS), Majuro (MAJ) and Kapolei (JRF) over February 8 - 9.

FEBRUARY 9, 2026: Jetstar Airways has retired an A320-200, VH-YXV (msn 5598). The aircraft was withdrawn from service in early January 2026, ferrying to Singapore Seletar (XSP). It recently continued onto Toulouse (QYF) via Muscat (MCT) and Cairo (CAI). The A320 will be taken up by Jetstar Japan and re-registered as JA11JJ.

FEBRUARY 9, 2025: PNG Air is mid way through ferrying another mid-life ATR72-600 to Papua New Guinea. The aircraft, P2-ATY (msn 1047) departed Toulouse (QYF) on February 6 and, at the time of publication, is at Bahrain (BAH). PNG Air is inducting several ATRs this year.

FEBRUARY 9, 2026: Qantas has taken delivery of another ex-Singapore Airlines B737-800. The aircraft, VH-XZT (msn 44230), formerly 9V-MGN, ferried from Singapore (SIN) to Alice Springs (ASP) via Darwin (DRW) on February 5. In June 2025, Qantas announced it would lease four mid-life B737-800s to help counter delivery delays of new aircraft.

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FEBRUARY 16, 2026. FRENCH POLYNESIA

Lionel Guérin confirmed as Air Tahiti Nui CEO

The Air Tahiti Nui board of directors has formally appointed Lionel Guérin as the airline’s new CEO. The appointment takes effect immediately. He replaces Philippe Marie, who was ousted from the role by French Polynesia's president in January.

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February 2026 Route Briefs

FEBRUARY 24, 2026:  Air Niugini will begin weekly B737-800 operated Port Moresby (POM) – Nadi (NAN) round-trips, effective March 29, 2026.

FEBRUARY 24, 2026: Virgin Australia will reduce its daily B777-300ER operated flights between Brisbane (BNE) and Doha (DOHA) and Perth (PER) and Doha to five per week between February 16 – March 16, 2026.

FEBRUARY 24, 2026: Qatar Airways is trimming its daily A350-900 operated round-trips between Adelaide (ADL) and Doha (DOH) to five per week between April 13 – June 15, 2026.

FEBRUARY 23, 2026: Delta Air Lines will gradually increase its A350-900 operated Los Angeles (LAX) – Melbourne (MEL) round-trips from three per week to four from October 11, 2026; five from October 25, 2026; and daily services from December 20, 2026.

FEBRUARY 19, 2026:  EVA Air will increase its B787-10 operated Taipei (TPE) – Brisbane (BNE) services from three to four weekly round-trips between June 16 and August 25, 2026.

FEBRUARY 18, 2026:  Qatar Airways will trim its daily B777-200LR operated Doha (DOH) – Auckland (AKL) round trips from daily to five per week between April 14 and June 15, 2026.

FEBRUARY 18, 2026: Korean Air will increase its B787-9 operated Seoul (ICN) – Brisbane (BNE) round-trips from three to four per week, effective April 27, 2026.

FEBRUARY 17, 2026: Air India will upgrade the operating aircraft type on its daily Delhi (DEL) – Melbourne (MEL) round-trips from a B787-8 to a B777 300ER, effective July 1, 2026.

FEBRUARY 12, 2026: French Bee will temporarily increase its Paris Orly (ORY) – San Francisco (SFO) – Papeete (PPT) flights from three to five per week between June 27 and September 5, 2026.

FEBRUARY 12, 2026: United Airlines will temporarily increase its San Francisco (SFO) – Papeete (PPT) flights from six to seven per week between June 29 and October 24, 2026.

FEBRUARY 5, 2026:  Aero Dili will operate its weekly Dili (DIL) – Oecusse (OEC) round-trips on Saturdays rather than Fridays across February and March 2026.

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FEBRUARY 16, 2026. FIJI

AviLease acquires Fiji Airways A350-900

The ownership of an A350-900 on lease to Fiji Airways has changed. The aircraft, DQ-FAN (msn 260), was sold to Riyadh based AviLease in December 2025. The vendor was GOAL Aircraft Leasing. The aircraft will remain with Fiji Airways under lease.

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