News Briefs from May 2026
MAY 29, 2025: Sunshine Coast Airport CEO, Chris Mills, will step down from his role later this year.
Read the news release here.
MAY 29, 2026: Air New Zealand and Singapore Airlines will expand their joint network between New Zealand and Singapore between October 25, 2026, and to March 27, 2027. With these adjustments, the two airlines will increase overall seat capacity between Singapore and New Zealand by 17% from late October, adding 72,000 seats and bringing the total seat count to more than 490,000 seats during the season.
Read the news release here.
MAY 27, 2026: Hobart Airport (HBA) opened another two departure gates yesterday as part of an AUD200 million terminal upgrade. Tasmania’s busiest airport expects to handle around 3.5 million passengers annually by 2030.
Read the news release here.
MAY 27, 2026: A total of 791,000 people passed through the Adelaide Airport (ADL) in April 2026, a 4% increase on the previous year. Even accounting for four fewer international services compared with the start of the year, 97,000 international passengers passed through the airport last month, a 5.8% increase on the year prior.
Read the news release here.
MAY 26, 2026: The Australian Government has accepted 95% of financial claims from regional airports left out of pocket by the 2025 collapse of Regional Express (REX) and has paid out AUD4.8 million to cover those debts. Thirty four airports and local councils successfully applied for the funding.
Read the news release here.
MAY 26, 2026: An ATR72-600 operated by PNG Air was involved in an incident at Goroka Airport (GKA) on May 25. The aircraft, P2-ATB (msn 1317), aborted take-off while on the take-off roll after a large flock of birds crossing the runway. As a result, the two tyres on the left main landing gear deflated. There were no injuries.
Read the news release here.
MAY 25, 2026: The Shire of Wyndham East Kimberley has completed the construction phase of the Kununurra Airport (KNX) runway extension project. The extended 2,370-metre runway can now comfortably accommodate fully laden narrowbody jets. The AUD19.1 million project was funded by the Australian Government (AUD15.1 million), the Government of Western Australia (AUD2.5 million), and the Shire of Wyndham East Kimberley (AUD1.5 million).
Read the news release here.
MAY 22, 2026: New Zealand’s Transport Accident Investigation Commission has released its final report into a July 27, 2025, incident near Whakatāne involving a Bell 206L-3 LongRanger helicopter that overturned during take-off, injuring three people.
You can read the final report here.
MAY 22, 2026: Vanuatu politician Marcellino Pipite says preliminary talks are underway about non-stop flights between Nadi (NAN) and Espiritu Santo (SON). He says the Vanuatu Government hopes to see the flights start later this year as part of broader plans to expand economic opportunities and improve regional connections.
Read the news report here.
MAY 20, 2026: Vanuatu PM Jotham Napat has told that country’s parliament that an overdue Twin Otter is due to arrive in June. The DHC-6-400, the second of a two aircraft deal for Air Vanuatu, was originally expected to arrive in March.
Read the news report here.
MAY 20, 2026: Air Niugini CEO Alan Milne has relaunched the carrier’s Higher Altitude Program that seeks to improve service culture, operational reliability, and financial performance at the airline. The relaunch is expected to deliver significant benefits, including reduced operational costs, improved customer satisfaction, and a stronger competitive position.
Read the news release here.
MAY 20, 2026: Aircalin will increase its ticket prices by 4% on May 20, 2026. The airline attributes the price rise to increased fuel costs.
Read the news report here.
MAY 20, 2026: The Australian Government has helped to secure three shipments of jet fuel from China, totalling more than 600,000 barrels or about 100 million litres. The fuel is expected to arrive in Australia in early June.
Read the news release here.
MAY 19, 2026: Melbourne Airport wants the Australian Government to invest the proceeds of extra tax it will collect from international travellers into improvements to Australia’s border processing facilities and technology.
Read the news release here.
MAY 18, 2026: Air Vanuatu has appointed Flavio Carvalho as its new chief commercial officer. Carvalho most recently worked for Air Vanuatu and before that, the Lufthansa Group.
Read the news release here.
MAY 18, 2026: Fiji Airways has appointed Russell Shaw as Chief Network Revenue and Alliances Officer. The Virgin Australia and Macquarie Group alumni most recently worked as Asia Pacific finance director at Civica.
Read the news report here.
MAY 18, 2026: The New Zealand Government has fast tracked approval a NZD100 million upgrade of the existing southern seawall at Wellington Airport (WLG). The strengthened seawall will better protect the airport against coastal processes and extreme weather events, while supporting safe operations. The project has a strong estimated cost-benefit ratio of 2.6, with gross benefits of up to NZD690 million forecast.
Read the news release here.
MAY 18, 2026: Billie Moore has announced she will step down as Chief Executive of the New Zealand Airports Association at the end of July 2026. She has led the organisation since late 2022.
Read the news release here.
MAY 15, 2026: The Australian Government has appointed Greg Hughes to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) board and re-appointed Pip Spence as CEO. Hughes has been appointed for three-years and has decades of senior leadership experience in the aviation and transport sectors, with expertise in operations, governance, and strategic oversight across complex and safety-critical environments.
Read the news release here.
MAY 15, 2025: Qantas has asked Australia International Air Services Commission to allocate it an additional two weekly frequencies on the Philippines route. The airline wants capacity to operate another two A321-200XLR round-trips on the Brisbane (BNE) – Manila (MNL) route from October 25, 2026. The increase will see Qantas fly daily services on the route.
Read the application here.
MAY 15, 2026: New Zealand's TAIC released their final report into a February 7, 2024, incident involving an Air New Zealand DHC-8-Q300 that aborted a high-speed take-off at Timaru (TIU) and subsequently stopped with its nose gear off the paved surface. The take-off was abandoned because of birds near the runway. Among other findings, the report said that there was a breakdown in communication between the captain and the first officer regarding reducing the rate of the aircraft’s rotation.
Read the final report here.
MAY 14, 2026: The Australian Government will spend AUD3.2 billion to build the country’s store of diesel and jet fuel to 50 days’ worth. As of early May 2026, Australia has approximately 29 to 30 days of jet fuel. The International Energy Agency’s standard is 90 days.
Read the news release here.
MAY 13, 2026: Air Chathams will provide NZD250,000 worth of free and discounted travel via its new Community Connection Fund. The seats will go to people and organisations who can show that their travel will deliver a community benefit in our destinations of Whakatāne, Whanganui, Kāpiti or the Chatham Islands.
Read the news release here.
MAY 11, 2026: Queensland’s McDermott Aviation is mobilising a major aerial firefighting fleet to Greece ahead of the 2026 fire season. A total of 15 helicopters and around 100 specialist personnel will rotate through Greece across the six-month deployment, with aircraft positioned across 11 bases in mainland Greece and key island locations.
MAY 8, 2026: A land dispute has forced the Ministry of Communication and Aviation to ship gravel from Guadalcanal to continue the upgrade of the Atoifi/Uru Harbour Airport (ATD) in East Kwaio, Malaita Province, Solomon Islands. The airstrip upgrade will extend the runway to 1,000 metres.
Read the news report here.
MAY 8, 2026: Due to continued increases in global fuel costs and operational expenses, Nauru Airlines has imposed a fuel surcharge adjustment on some routes and fare types.
MAY 7, 2026: The Australian Airports Association has welcomed the Federal Government’s announcement of new measures to strengthen Australia’s fuel security ahead of next week’s budget. The package includes extending the minimum stockholding obligation for jet fuel to 50 days, providing a greater supply buffer for the aviation sector during periods of international disruption.
Read the news release here.
MAY 6, 2026: New Zealand’s Origin Air will continue flying between Westport and Wellington until mid-June after coming a short-term arrangement with Buller District Council. The airline had earlier warned it would axe the loss making service on May 1.
Read the news report here.
MAY 6, 2026: Papua New Guinea’s National Airports Corporation says work on the upgrade of Keita/Aropa Airport (KIE) is over half complete. However, as the final tranches of work start, the airport’s runway will be cut to 365 metres between May 6 and September 18, 2026.
Read the news release here.
MAY 4, 2026: Air New Zealand has released its March 2026 traffic data showing overall capacity increased by 4.1% compared to March 2025. Long-haul available seat kilometres rose 2.5%, while domestic capacity grew 3.4%, supported by two additional A321 aircraft in operation compared to March last year.
Read the news release here.
MAY 4, 2026: The Australian Government has secured two shipments of jet fuel totalling 100 million litres. The shipments are in addition to the eight shipments previouslt announced in partnership with BP Australia, Ampol, and Viva Energy.
Read the news release here.
MAY 1, 2026: Qantas has requested Australia’s International Air Services Commission renew its approval to operate thrice-weekly season round trips on the Australia – Italy country for another five years. The current approval expires on January 12, 2027.
Read the filing here.
MAY 1, 2026: Qantas has requested Australia’s International Air Services Commission renew its approval to operate five weekly E190 round-trips on the Australia – Timor-Leste country by another five years. The current approval expires on March 10, 2027.
Read the filing here.
MAY 1, 2026: Qantas has requested Australia’s International Air Services Commission renew its approval to operate five weekly B787 round-trips on the Australia – Vietnam country by five years. The current approval expires on March 20, 2027. In all three applications, Qantas asks that either it or Jetstar or any other wholly owned subsidiary may operate the flights.
Read the filing here.
