APRIL 20, 2026. AUSTRALIA

China Southern extends Southwest Pacific cuts to late 3Q26

China Southern Airlines is extending winter capacity cuts across its South-West Pacific network to late September, reducing services to most Australian and New Zealand destinations.

Get the full story

  • Glenorchy Air to launch Queenstown Air Charter with new Tecnam

    APRIL 17, 2026: Queenstown-based scenic airline Glenorchy Air has acquired a Tecnam P2012 and will use the aircraft to launch a new charter brand called Queenstown Air Charter. The aircraft is due for delivery mid-year and will be registered as ZK JTK (msn 091).

    Get the full story 

  • US DOT approves Asia Pacific Airlines’ open skies request

    APRIL 17, 2026: The US Department of Transportation has approved an application by Aero Micronesia, trading as Asia Pacific Airlines, for an exemption to operate between the US and all countries with which it has an open-skies agreement or is a MALIAT signatory.

    Read more 

  • Virgin Australia’s fuel hedging strategies pay off

    APRIL 16, 2026: Virgin Australia says effective fuel hedging has helped insulate it from the worst of the recent fuel price spikes. In an April 15 market update, the airline says it expects its fuel costs in the current six-month period to increase by just $30 – 40 million.

    Get the full story 

  • Nouméa court sends Air Calédonie into receivership

    APRIL 15, 2026: Nouméa’s Commercial Court (Tribunal mixte de commerce de Nouméa) has placed Air Calédonie into receivership. The court issued the order yesterday, April 14, following a decision by the airline’s board to file for bankruptcy.

    Read more 
1 4

April 2026 News Briefs

APRIL 20, 2026: Micronesian Air Connection Services (MACS) is preparing to resume scheduled services on Monday, April 20, or as airports re open in the wake of Typhoon Sinlaku.

Read the news release here.

APRIL 20, 2026: A Qantas B737-800 registered as VH-VXT (msn 33760) operating a scheduled service from Cairns (CNS) to Melbourne (MEL) on April 18 diverted to Rockhampton (ROK) after a fire sensor activated. The aircraft landed safely with no actual fire detected. It has since ferried to Brisbane (BNE).

Read the news report here.

APRIL 16, 2026: Guam’s Micronesian Air Connection Services (MACS) has cancelled all flights on April 16 due to ongoing severe weather from Tropical Storm Sinlaku.

Read the news release here.

APRIL 16, 2026: The Government of Tuvalu has declared a state of emergency due to critical fuel shortages in the country, once again requiring Fiji Airways to operate with return fuel being carried on flights to Funafuti (FUN). Consequently, the flights will not operate at full seating capacity until further notice.

Read the news release here.

APRIL 15, 2026: A total of 3,129,811 people travelled through Melbourne Airport (MEL) in March 2026, including 1,002,589 international passengers, surpassing the previous March monthly record of 937,696 international travellers set in 2025.

Read the news release here.

APRIL 14, 2026:  The Nouméa Commercial Court accepted an application to place Air Calédonie in receivership yesterday, April 14. All debts incurred before April 14 are now frozen.

Read the news report here.

APRIL 14, 2026: Christchurch Airport (CHC) processed 3.1 million passengers between November 2025 and March 2026 (inclusive), including 287,000 international passengers. Australia held its spot as the largest source market, with 112,600 arrivals, followed by China with 38,400. Visitor numbers from China increased by over 100% from last season.

Read the news release here.

APRIL 14, 2026: Air Rarotonga has added a fuel surcharge to all tickets sold on and after April 9, citing a “dramatic increase in global fuel prices linked to current Middle Eastern geopolitical events.”

Read the news release here

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.

Read More News Briefs

APRIL 15, 2026. AUSTRALIA

Qantas, Jetstar suspend routes amid rising fuel prices

The Qantas Group is trimming domestic capacity by around 5% this quarter as its half year fuel bill blows out to over $3
billion. While multiple routes will lose some frequencies, some regional propellor and jet operated routes will be suspended.

Get the full story
Virgin Australia Tail

APRIL 3, 2026. AUSTRALIA

Domestic routes Virgin Australia flies that Qantas does not

Virgin Australia is usually outgunned by Qantas when it comes to network depth and breadth. However, Virgin Australia flies into two Australian airports not served by Qantas and operates on nine domestic routes that Qantas does not.

Read more

April 2026 Aircraft Movements

APRIL 17, 2026: Qantas is ferrying in its fifth A321-200XLR. The aircraft, VH-OGE (msn 12762) departed Hamburg (XFW) bound for Sydney (SYD) on April 16 and, at the time of publication, is at Bengaluru (BLR).

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.

Read more aircraft movements

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 first time the aircraft converter and cargo carrier has sold a plane to an Australian customer.

Get the full story

April 2026 Route Briefs

APRIL 20, 2026: Malaysia Airlines has started using an A330-900N on its daily Kuala Lumpur (KUL) – Adelaide (ADL) round-trips, effective April 15.

APRIL 16, 2026: Malaysia Airlines will increase its five weekly Kuala Lumpur (KUL) – Brisbane (BNE) round-trips to six per week from August 16, 2026, before increasing to daily services on October 25.

APRIL 16, 2026: Vanuatu’s Belair has commenced thrice weekly BN2 Islander Port Vila (VLI) – Tongoa (TGH), effective April 15.

APRIL 16, 2026: Fiji Airways is reducing its Nadi (NAN) – Brisbane (BNE) round trips to daily services, effective April 25.

APRIL 16, 2026: Fiji Airways is scaling back its thrice-weekly Nadi (NAN) – Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) round-trips to twice weekly between May 5 and June 16.

APRIL 14, 2026: Finnair and Jetstar have deepened their codeshare partnership, with Jetstar adding Finnair’s AY designator to its Singapore (SIN) –Denpasar (DPS) – Maroochydore (MCY) and Singapore – Denpasar – Newcastle (NTL) round-trips, effective early April.

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.

Read More Route Briefs

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.

Read more