MARCH 25, 2026. AUSTRALIA

Qantas Group seeks unrestricted passenger capacity to Canada

The Qantas Group has asked Australia’s International Air Services Commission for unrestricted passenger capacity on the Australia – Canada country pair. This follows a 2024 amendment to the air services agreement permitting this.

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MARCH 25, 2026. AUSTRALIA

Singapore Airlines firms up Western Sydney Airport flights

Singapore Airlines has set a start date for flights to Western Sydney Airport. In a March 24, 2026, statement, the airline said it would begin daily A350-900 flights from Singapore on November 23, 2026.

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MARCH 24, 2026. AUSTRALIA

Virgin Australia domestic market share leader in early 2026

Virgin Australia enjoyed a rare victory over Qantas in January, having a larger Australian domestic market share in January 2026, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's latest quarterly report.

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MARCH 23, 2026. AUSTRALIA

Qatar Airways ferries four B777s to Brisbane

Qatar Airways ferried four aircraft to Brisbane (BNE) over the weekend as hostilities in the Gulf region continue to impact the airline’s operations. Two B777-300ERs flew in from Perth (PER) and one each from Melbourne (MEL) and Sydney (SYD).

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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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  • Air Calédonie mulls receivership as blockades continue

    MARCH 20, 2026: Air Calédonie has around two weeks’ worth of cash left and is losing XPF10 million (USD96,000) per day after protestors began blockading airports in early March, forcing carrier to suspend its domestic flights and consider entering into receivership.

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  • Early start for United Airlines' Guam MAX 8 ops

    MARCH 19, 2026: The first two of ten United Airlines’ B737-8s (MAX 8s) have transferred to Guam and begun operating scheduled flights from the airport. At the same time, the airline has started ferrying out older B737-800s based at the airport.

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  • Taxpayers help British Airways start Melbourne flights

    MARCH 18, 2026: British Airways will commence daily flights to Melbourne (MEL) in early 2027 with help from Victoria’s taxpayers. The B787-9-operated services, which are an extension of BA's existing flights to Kuala Lumpur, will start on January 17.

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  • Solomon Airlines hits out at IASC’s Honiara decision

    MARCH 17, 2026: Solomon Airlines says it is extremely disappointed by an International Air Services Commission determination approving an application from Qantas to add another 194 seats per week on the Brisbane (BNE) – Honiara (HIR) city-pair.

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March 2026 News Briefs

MARCH 25, 2026: Wellington Airport (WLG) has completed installation of new runway safety zones today, with energy absorbing blocks now in place at each end of the airport runway. The work extends the usable length of the runway by optimising space between the safety zones, providing a landing distance increase of 143 metres and a take-off distance increase of 37 metres.

Read the news release here.

MARCH 25, 2026: The New Zealand Government’s Regional Infrastructure Fund will provide a NZD6.5 million loan to Hamilton Airport (HLZ) to help pay for a 255-metre runway extension, expansion of the runway apron and turning bay, and upgrading the approach and runway lights. When the work is done, the runway’s length will increase to 2,450 metres.

Read the news release here.

MARCH 24, 2026: Tonga’s Lupepau'u International Airport (Vava'u (VAV)) has received a USD1.3 million category 5 aircraft rescue and fire fighting vehicle from Aviation Fire Services Ltd, New Zealand, with funding from the World Bank. The asset is delivered as part of Tonga’s Climate Resilient Transport Project.

Read the news article here.

MARCH 24, 2026: Solomon Airlines has announced the appointment of SISI Travel as its Passenger Sales Agent for the airline in Santo, Vanuatu. In this role, SISI Travel will provide sales, marketing, and sales support services tailored to the Vanuatu market.

Read the news release here.

MARCH 23, 2026: The New Caledonia Government has negotiated a so-called health corridor with protestors blockading airports, allowing an Air Calédonie ATR to land at Ouvéa Airport (UVE) on March 21 to repatriate 50 patients, medics, and medical supplies.

Read the news report here.

MARCH 23, 2026: Fiji’s Labasa Airport (LBS) is due to re-open on March 27 after a month-long closure that allowed engineers to carry out major runway pavement strengthening works.

Read the news report here.

MARCH 23, 2026: LifeFlight and the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) (Queensland Section) have opened a shared AUD34.4 million aeromedical hub at Mount Isa Airport (ISA). The facility will help the medical retrieval specialists deliver lifesaving, primary and preventative healthcare services across Queensland’s north and northwest.

Read the news release here.

MARCH 20, 2026: An upgrade of New Zealand’s Masterton Airport (MRO) is complete. The work included resurfacing and widening the runway, improving lighting, upgrading water and electrical networks for 27 new hangar sites, and building new access roads. 

Read the news release here.

MARCH 19, 2026: Fiji’s Ministry of Civil Aviation wants to continue discussions with Australia about accessing bulk sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). The 2026-2031 Civil Aviation Master Plan launched last month suggested that Fiji strengthen talks and develop a certification scheme consistent with international standards to verify the emissions from SAF.

Read the news report here.

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MARCH 16, 2026. PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Air Niugini to start Tokyo, Auckland flights in mid-2026

Air Niugini will resume flights to Tokyo Narita (NRT) and Auckland (AKL) in mid-2026. The airline last flew scheduled services to Tokyo six years ago and hasn’t regularly flown to Auckland since 1998.

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MARCH 16, 2026. AUSTRALIA

Qantas settles flight credits class action lawsuit

Qantas will pay AUD105 million (USD73.4 million) to settle a class action lawsuit stemming from the airline’s policy to issue flight credits rather than refunds when it cancelled flights during the Covid-19 pandemic.

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March 2026 Aircraft Movements

MARCH 25, 2026: The Qantas Group is ferrying in another former WestJet Encore DHC-8-Q400. The aircraft, C FQWE (msn 4473) departed Sault Ste. Marie (YAM) on March 22, 2026. and is expected in Brisbane (BNE) on March 26. It will be re-registered as VH-8AJ.

MARCH 10, 2026: The final ex-Qantas Group DHC-8-Q300 acquired by Avmax has left Australia.  VH-TQE (msn 596) departed Alice Springs (ASP) on March 7, flying to Calgary (YYC) via Cairns (CNS), Majuro (MAJ), and Kapolei (JRF).

MARCH 2, 2026: Abelo has delivered an ATR72-500, VH-FVX (msn 762), to Air Navigator Group’s Australian subsidiary, Aerlink, to support their fly-in-fly-out operations. The aircraft ferried from Toulouse (QYF) to Perth (PER) between February 20 – 27, 2026

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MARCH 13, 2026. NEW CALEDONIA

Air Calédonie shutdown about to enter third week

The near total shutdown of Air Calédonie is about to enter its third week as protestors continue blockading Maré, Lifou, Ouvéa, and Isle of Pines Airports. Almost all domestic flights have been cancelled since March 2.

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March 2026 Route Briefs

MARCH 25, 2026: Air Vanuatu has commenced weekly DHC-6-300 round-trips between Port Vila and Torres (TOH) via Norsup (NUS), Luganville (SON), and Sola (SLH).

MARCH 25, 2025: Cebu Pacific will reduce frequencies on its Manila (MNL) – Melbourne (MEL) and Manila – Sydney (SYD) routes in May 2026 in response to rising fuel prices.  Melbourne will lose two round-trips over the month and Sydney will lose seven round-trips.

MARCH 24, 2026: Batik Air Malaysia will commence six weekly A330-300 operated non-stop round-trips between Kuala Lumpur (KUL) and Sydney (SYD) on July 1, 2026. The existing via Denpasar (DPS) service remains in place.

MARCH 23, 2026: Singapore Airlines will redeploy the A380-800 onto one of its four daily Singapore (SIN) – Melbourne (MEL) round-trips, effective March 29, 2026. The aircraft will operate SQ237/228.

MARCH 20, 2026: Sichuan Airlines are ending their twice weekly A350-900 operated Chengdu (TFU) – Auckland (AKL) round-trips on March 26, 2026, with no restart date yet set.

MARCH 19, 2026: Origin Air intends to axe its Westport (WSZ) – Wellington (WLG) service on May 1, 2026, unless it can secure a government subsidy by the end of March. The route is losing NZD250,000 annually and that figure will rise in line with rising fuel prices.

MARCH 17, 2026: British Airways will start daily B787-9 operated London Heathrow (LHR) - Melbourne (MEL) via Kuala Lumpur (KUL) round-trips on January 9, 2027.

MARCH 17, 2026: Air Tahiti will operate a third weekly ATR-operated Papeete (PPT) – Rarotonga (RAR) round-trip between July 6 and August 3, 2026.

MARCH 13, 2026: SriLankan Airlines will increase its daily A330-300 operated Melbourne (MEL) - Colombo (CMB) round-trips to 11 per week, effective August 2, 2026.

MARCH 10, 2026: China Southern Airlines will begin code sharing with Qantas on the latter airline’s Sydney (SYD) – Darwin (DRW) and Brisbane (BNE) – Darwin routes, effective March 29, 2026.

MARCH 10, 2026: Air Tahiti Nui will grow its code sharing arrangement with Qantas, adding its TN flight designator to Qantas’s Auckland (AKL) – Adelaide (ADL) and Auckland – Perth (PER) flights from early March 2026.

MARCH 9, 2026: China Eastern Airlines will operate daily A330-200 round-trips between Shanghai (PVG) and Brisbane (BNE) this upcoming southern winter rather than the previously planned five weekly round-trips.

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MARCH 12, 2026. NEW ZEALAND

Air New Zealand trims flights to offset fuel price shock

Air New Zealand will axe 1,100 flights between mid-March and early May 2026 in a bid to conserve fuel and cut costs. However, CEO Nikhil Ravishankar said no routes would get cut and that the airline would maintain regional connectivity.

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