MARCH 31, 2026. AUSTRALIA / NEW ZEALAND

Air New Zealand ends seasonal Hobart flights, restarts Cairns

Air New Zealand is making its traditional seasonal adjustments to flights to secondary airports along Australia’s east coast. Among the changes this week are the end of seasonal Auckland  – Hobart flights and the start of seasonal Auckland – Cairns services.

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MARCH 30, 2026. AUSTRALIA

Qantas ending wet-leased Finnair A330-300 ops

Qantas is ending its use of wet-leased Finnair A330-330s. The airline has now transitioned to dry-lease only arrangements with its Finnish partner. Qantas wet-leased the planes to ease an in-house capacity shortfall and used them to fly from Sydney to Singapore and Bangkok.

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MARCH 30, 2026. NEW CALEDONIA

Airport blockades force Air Calédonie to file for bankruptcy

A last-minute agreement to lift an airport blockade has failed to stop New Caledonia's domestic airline Air Calédonie from filing for bankruptcy. Air Calédonie’s directors made the decision during a March 27 board meeting.

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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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  • Qantas boosts B787 flights to Europe, cuts elsewhere

    MARCH 27, 2026: Qantas will take some widebody aircraft off domestic routes, trim frequencies to the Americas, and pull the B787-9 off the Brisbane – Los Angeles route to beef up capacity into Europe over the coming months.

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  • Air Calédonie breakthrough - Ile de Pins blockade to end

    MARCH 27, 2026: Protestors have agreed to end their blockade of New Caledonia’s Ile de Pins Airport, allowing scheduled flights to resume. Protest leaders and government officials met on March 26 and reached an agreement to end the month-long blockade.

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  • Fiji Airways leaves network intact despite rising costs

    MARCH 26, 2026: Fiji’s Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation says majority state-owned Fiji Airways will not cut any flights because of fuel supply issues or rising costs. “Fiji Airways has made a commitment that it will not give up on any routes,” said Viliame Gavoka.

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  • Qantas Group seeks unrestricted passenger capacity to Canada

    MARCH 25 2026: 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 2026 News Briefs

MARCH 31, 2026: Air Niugini has commenced A220-300 services on the Port Moresby (POM) – Sydney (SYD) city pair. The inaugural flight took place on March 29. POM – SYD is the second international city-pair serviced by Air Nuigini’s A220s. The aircraft commenced operations on the Port Moresby – Cairns (CNS) city-pair last week.

Read the news release here.

MARCH 31, 2026: China’s Ministry of Transportation has approved the continuation of an alliance between Air China and Air New Zealand through to 2031.

Read the news release here.

MARCH 31, 2026: The Civil Aviation (Amendment) Bill 2026 has been tabled in Nauru’s Parliament. The Bill aims to addresses cases relating to passengers who use e-cigarettes or smoke on an aircraft. It has been difficult to charge and prosecute offenders because of the gaps in the Act especially in regard to e-cigarettes.

Read the news release here.

MARCH 30, 2026: Aero Dili has launched its twice weekly Dili (DIL) – Kuala Lumpur (KUL) flights. The inaugural March 28 service was operated by Aero Dili’s A319-100, 4W-AAO (msn 02825).

Read the news release here.

MARCH 30, 2026: Air Niugini has deployed the A220-300 onto the Port Moresby (POM) – Cairns (CNS) city pair, effective March 27. The aircraft replaces the B737-800s and Fokker jets previously operating on the route. POM – CNS is the first international city-pair that Air Niugini had used the A220 on.

Read the news release here.

MARCH 30, 2026: Isaac Regional Council says there will be no refuelling services at Clermont Airport (CMQ) from March 23 to April 20, 2026. The temporary closure is due to staff availability. The remote airport normally has Jet A1 and AvGas fuel available.

Read the news release here.

MARCH 26, 2026: Air New Zealand and Air Chathams have commenced an interline agreement that offers passengers same-ticket connections when travelling to and from Whakatāne onto the wider Air New Zealand domestic network.

Read the news release here.

MARCH 27, 2026: The Civil Aviation Authority of Vanuatu says Pele Airport (TGH) will re-open after maintenance and safety upgrades are carried out. The airport, on Tongoa Island, has experienced closures and service disruptions in the past due to unsafe runway conditions, including damage, lack of fencing, and livestock roaming the runway.

Read the news report here.

MARCH 26, 2026: Due to ongoing airports blockades in the Loyalty Islands and Île des Pins since, Aircalin is suspending the sale of flights operated by the domestic carrier Air Calédonie until May 31, 2026, inclusive.

Read the news release here.

MARCH 26, 2025: Adelaide Airport (ADL) achieved record passenger numbers for February 2026, with 692,000 people passing through the terminal, a 4.7% increase on the previous year. This included 105,000 international passengers passing through the airport in February, a 33.1% increase on the year prior.

Read the news release here.

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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 2026 Aircraft Movements

MARCH 30, 2026: Mineral Resources owned specialist fly-in-fly-out carrier, MinRes Air, is ferrying in another A320-200. The aircraft, JA05MC (msn 4555) is currently at Jakarta (CGK) pending delivery. It will enter into the Australian aircraft register as VH-8CU.

MARCH 27, 2026: Jetstar is returning an A320-200 to its lessor (Aircastle) this week. VH-YXW (msn 5796) was withdrawn from service earlier in January and parked at Alice Springs (ASP). It is due to depart Australia on March 27.

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 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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March 2026 Route Briefs

MARCH 30, 2026: United Airlines will ramp up its five weekly B787-9 operated San Francisco (SFO) – Papeete (PPT) round-trips to daily flights, effective June 29, 2026.

MARCH 30, 2026: United Airlines plans to increase its four weekly B777-200LR operated San Francisco (SFO) – Brisbane (BNE) round-trips to daily services, effective September 24, 2026.

MARCH 27, 2026: Korea’s t’way Air will suspend its Seoul (ICN) – Saipan (SPN) round-trips between May 5 and October 24, 2026. The airline cites rising global aviation fuel costs, fuel supply constraints, and softening travel demand as factors.

MARCH 27, 2026: Philippine Airlines is cancelling its Cebu (CEB) – Guam (GUM) services from April 16, 2026, "due to changing conditions affecting global aviation."

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.

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MARCH 20, 2026. NEW CALEDONIA

Air Calédonie mulls receivership as blockades continue

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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