JANUARY 23, 2026. NEW ZEALAND / TOKELAU

New Zealand Gov’t axes Tokelau Airport plans

The New Zealand Government has ditched plans to build an airport at remote Tokelau. A Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson said the high cost of the project and a constrained fiscal environment had scuttled the plan.

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JANUARY 22, 2026. PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Air Niugini to suspend Kiunga flights until July

Air Niugini will suspend flights to and from Kiunga Airport (UNG) in Papua New Guinea’s Western Province while a runway upgrade takes place. The service suspension will start on January 24, 2026, and run through to an unspecified date in July.

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JANUARY 22, 2026. AUSTRALIA

Australian airports report a blockbuster December 2025

Five Australian airports have recently released updated passenger traffic data, reporting record passenger numbers for December 2025 and, in some cases, record passenger numbers for the year.

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JANUARY 21, 2026. VANUATU

Air Vanuatu ferries in another Twin Otter

The first of two refurbished Air Vanuatu DHC-6-300 Twin Otters have arrived in Port Vila. Flight tracking data shows the plane landing in Vanuatu on January 20, 2026, after ferrying from Santa Maria (SMX) to Port Vila (VLI) via Hilo (ITO) and Pago Pago (PPG).

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JANUARY 20, 2026. AUSTRALIA

Qantas snaps up three E190s for FIFO flying, more on the way

Qantas has secured three mid-life E190-100s that will work fly-in-fly-out (FIFO) contracts and regular passenger transport services within Western Australia.

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JANUARY 20, 2026. SOLOMON ISLANDS

Solomon Airlines scales up its international network

Solomon Airlines will increase frequencies on existing international routes and debut two new routes in the first half of 2026. The airline will start flights to Port Moresby in neighbouring Papua New Guinea on March 31, 2026, as well as twice weekly flights between Port Vila and Christchurch on July 1.

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JANUARY 19, 2026. AUSTRALIA

Qantas to start flying the A220-300 from Adelaide

Qantas will start flying the A220-300 on the Adelaide (ADL) – Brisbane (BNE) city pair on March 3, 2026. It will be the first time Qantas has operated the aircraft type out of Adelaide and it happens one year after the airline first put the regional jets into service.

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JANUARY 19, 2026. FRENCH POLYNESIA

Lionel Guérin tapped as Air Tahiti Nui’s new CEO

Lionel Guérin will become the new CEO of Air Tahiti Nui. A draft decree has submitted to the French Polynesian Government’s Budgetary and Financial Control Committee, which is expected to tick off on the appointment early this week.

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  • East Air axes scheduled Hamilton Island ops, back to charters

    JANUARY 16, 2026: East Air has ceased operating scheduled passenger flights between Cairns (CNS) and Hamilton Island (HTI) less that two months after debuting the service. The small Cairns-based operator says it will pivot back to charter flights.

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  • Air Niugini ups Sydney flights, deploying A220 onto route

    JANUARY 15, 2026: Air Niugini will increase its Port Moresby (POM) – Sydney (SYD) round-trips to three per week and deploy its brand new A220-300s onto the route - in the same week that Qantas resumes flights on the city pair.

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  • Fiji Airways secures newest ATR72 on lease from DAE

    JANUARY 14, 2026: Fiji Airways most recent ATR72 delivery was obtained from Dubai Aerospace (DAE) on a 12-year operating lease.

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  • New equipment improves ground handling at Honiara Airport

    JANUARY 14, 2026: Aviation infrastructure in the Solomon Islands received a boost this week after the World Bank and Solomon Islands Government handed over ground service equipment at Honiara International Airport (HIR) on January 12, 2026.

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January 2026 News Briefs

JANUARY 23, 2026: A Tropicair operated DHC-6-300 Twin Otter registered as P2-BBM (msn 542) landed at Port Moresby (POM) on January 22 without the nose landing gear wheel extended. No injuries were reported however the aircraft sustained some damage.

Read the news article here.

JANUARY 23,2026:  A board meeting scheduled for January 22 to formalise the appointment of Lionel Guérin as CEO of Air Tahiti Nui, replacing Philippe Marie, has been postponed due to a delay in receiving shareholders' approval.

Read the news article here.

JANUARY 22, 2026: Fiji Airways’ domestic subsidiary, Fiji Link, will operate additional flights to and from Savusavu Airport (SVU) during the closure of Labasa Airport (LBS), which will be shut between February 16 - March 27, 2026, for runway pavement strengthening works.

Read the news article here.

JANUARY 20, 2026: Passenger numbers at Perth Airport (PER) surpassed the 18 million mark in 2025, besting 2024’s record of 16.9 million. Last year, 5.4 million international and 12.6 million domestic passengers passed through the airport.

Read the news release here.

JANUARY 20, 2026: Free public transport will link Western Sydney International Airport (WSI) to Sydney’s suburban rail network when it opens later in the year. The free bus service will take passengers to and from airport to St Marys train station. The interim service will run until the Sydney Metro airport rail link opens in 2027.

Read the news release here.

JANUARY 19, 2026: Qantas ferried an A380-800, VH-OQC (msn 022), back to Sydney (SYD) from Los Angeles (LAX) late last week, more than a month after it experienced a slat delamination on approach to LAX while operating its first revenue flight in almost six years after being brought back from storage at Abu Dhabi (AUH). The aircraft landed at Sydney mid morning on January 16, local time, and operated QF11 back to Los Angeles on January 18.

See the flight tracking here.

JANUARY 19, 2026: The operational length of West New Britain’s Hoskins Airport (HKN) runway is temporarily shortened to 1,410 metres as work to extend the 1,900 metre runway ramps up. The runway can still accommodate Dash-8 and ATR aircraft operated by Air Niugini and PNG Air while the work take place.

Read the news article here.

JANUARY 19, 2026: 2025 was the busiest year on record for Brisbane Airport (BNE), with 25 million passengers moving through it over the year. International passenger traffic was up 10.7% and domestic was up 3.2% In December, Brisbane recorded its busiest month on record, with 2.3 million passengers travelling through the airport.

Read the news release here.

JANUARY 16, 2025: A Hevilift ATR42-500, P2-KSA (msn 0639) operating a charter flight between Port Moresby (POM) and Simberi Island (NIS) veered off the runway after landing on January 15, 2026. Fourteen people were onboard but no injuries were reported.

Read the news article here.

JANUARY 15, 2026: The Tongan Government is seeking expressions of interest from qualified consultants to advise and assist the Civil Aviation Office to address gaps identified in an ICAO ICVM audit, as well as in the area of air navigation services and aerodromes and ground aids. The project is funded by the World Bank.

Read the terms of reference and scope of work documents here.

JANUARY 14, 2026: Melbourne Airport has recorded its busiest month on record, with 3,421,195 passengers travelling through the airport terminals in December. The airport also set a new monthly record for the number of international flights it handled, with 5,596 services operated in or out of the international terminal, carrying a total 1,222,570 passengers.

Read the news release here.

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JANUARY 13, 2026. PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Adventist Aviation Services aircraft veers off runway in PNG

Papua New Guinea’s Accident Investigation Commission (AIC) has begun an investigation into a runway excursion involving an Adventist Aviation Services PAC 750 XSTOL aircraft on January 9, 2026.

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JANUARY 13, 2026. NEW CALEDONIA

Malaysia Airlines plots 2026 A330-900N Australian expansion

Malaysia Airlines has firmed up its plans to deploy additional A330-900N services in an out of Australia in 2026, including to Adelaide from April, to Perth in June, and Brisbane in August.

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January 2026 Aircraft Movements

JANUARY 23, 2026: The Air Vanuatu's newest DHC-6-300 Twin Otter, N708GH (msn 481), ferried to Port Vila (VLI) this week, will be entered into the local aircraft register as YJ-015.

JANUARY 21, 2026: Nauru Airlines has leased a B737-800F, VH-8TG (msn 33003), to India’s AFCOM Holdings for six-years. The lease coincides with the two parties recently signing a strategic partnership agreement, also for a six-year term.

JANUARY 21,2026: National Jet Express has acquired its twelfth DHC-8-Q400. The ex-Croatia Airlines aircraft, 9A-CQB (msn 4211), was added to the Australian aircraft register late last week, becoming VH-8QD. It will be based at Brisbane (BNE)

JANUARY 19, 2026: Nexus Airlines is ferrying in its sixth DHC-8-400. The aircraft, C-GKFR (msn 4455), is an 11.5 year-old refurbished frame leased from TrueNoord and will be entered into the Australian register as VH-8XD. At the time of publication, the Dash-8 is still in Canada but is expected to begin flying towards Australia within days.

JANUARY 19, 2026: The Tasmanian Division of the Royal Flying Doctor Service has acquired a Beechcraft King Air B350 registered as VH-MQD (msn FM-75) to support a ten-year aeromedical contract.

JANUARY 12, 2026: Qantas is ferrying in another ex-WestJet Encore DHC-8-Q400. The aircraft, C-FUWE (msn 4477) is today en-route from Honolulu (HNL) to Majuro (MAJ) on its way to Brisbane (BNE). The turboprop will go into the Australia aircraft register as  VH-8AL and be operated by Sunstate Airlines as a QantasLink aircraft.

JANUARY 9, 2026: Jetstar is presently ferrying in its twenty-third A321-200NX. The aircraft, VH-OLQ (msn 12956) departed Hamburg (XFW) for Muscat (MCT) on January 8 and is due to land in Melbourne on January 10.

JANUARY 7, 2026: Virgin Australia will return B737-800 VH-VUG (msn 34438) to lessor Deucalion Aviation, with January 7, 2026, being the aircraft’s last day of scheduled flying for Virgin Australia.

JANUARY 5, 2025: Skytraders has disposed of a 22-year-old A319-100. The aircraft, VH-VCJ (msn 01880), ferried from Melbourne (MEL) to Honolulu (HNL) via Nadi (NAN) before Christmas. The aircraft will be parted out.

JANUARY 5, 2025: Fiji Airways is ferrying in its sixth ATR72 600. The aircraft, DQ-FJD (msn 1743), is en-route to Nadi (NAN) from Toulouse (TLS), and, at the time of publication, is at Al Ain (AAN). The ATR will operate domestic flights under the Fiji Link brand.

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JANUARY 12, 2026. AUSTRALIA

North Queensland airports re-open after Cyclone Koji

Four North Queensland airports have re-opened after a significant weather event over the weekend. Airlines cancelled flights as Townsville (TSV), Proserpine (PPP), Mackay (MKY), and Hamilton Island (HTI) Airports closed down ahead of Cyclone Koji.

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January 2026 Route Briefs

JANUARY 22, 2026: Jetstar will deploy the A321-200NX on the Brisbane (BNE) - Canberra (CBR) city-pair between April and October 2026, replacing the A320-200 and adding 52 seats per flight.

JANUARY 20, 2026:Vietnam Airlines will increase its Hanoi (HAN) – Sydney (SYD) and Hanoi – Melbourne (MEL) A350-900 operated round-trips from three to four weekly, effective March 29, 2026.

JANUARY 15, 2026: China Southern Airlines will increase its Guangzhou (CAN) – Auckland (AKL) B787-9 operated round-trips from seven per week to ten, effective March 29, 2026.

 JANUARY 14, 2026: Originair will begin twice-weekly BAe Jetstream 32 operated round-trips between Nelson (NSN) and Christchurch (CHC) each Friday and Sunday, effective February 9, 2026.

JANUARY 8, 2026: American Airlines has swapped the B787-9 operating its daily Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) – Auckland (AKL) round-trips to its 244 passenger premium cabin heavy type. The seasonal service runs through March 28, 2026.

JANUARY 5, 2026: Shenzhen Airlines have commenced thrice weekly A330-300 operated round-trips between Melbourne (MEL) and Shenzhen’s Bao’an Airport (SZX). Shenzhen Airlines becomes the 42nd carrier to serve Melbourne Airport.

JANUARY 5, 2026: Philippine Airlines has started thrice-weekly A321-200 operated round-trips between Guam (GUM) and Cebu (CEB). It is the only airline serving the city pair.

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JANUARY 12, 2025. NAURU

Minister says business as usual era is over at Nauru Airlines

Minister for Nauru Airlines Asterio Appi says the state-owned carrier will make some significant changes in 2026 as part of an business-wide review that will put an end to any business as usual thinking at the airline.

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