Aviation - VibeWire Magazine

Middle East war will hammer long-haul demand, says Airservices

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March 20, 2026
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In its Australian Aviation Network Overview report for February 2026, the air traffic management provider noted that while international flights reached their highest growth rate in the past 12 months, long-haul demand is “expected to soften” due to th…

New aeromedical hub opens at Mount Isa

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March 20, 2026
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Mount Isa hosted more than 2,300 RFDS flights and transported over 1,000 patients in the 2023/24 financial year, and the new facility replaces the aircraft hangar in use since 1964.

Virgin Australia to increase domestic fares as fuel costs climb

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March 20, 2026
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The carrier is set to increase domestic business and economy fares by around five per cent, Australian Aviation understands, with the current spot price of fuel hitting around double what it was at the same time last month as the Middle East conflict c…

Rocket Lab partners with Pentagon on hypersonic launch

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March 20, 2026
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Rocket Lab announced the agreement for a series of missions using its HASTE (Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron) vehicle, marking the largest single launch contract in the company’s history. HASTE was earlier this month used to launch a su…

Qantas stopovers are here to stay, says international head

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March 20, 2026
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Speaking at a tourism forum in Melbourne, Qantas International CEO Cam Wallace said that direct Project Sunrise flights to New York and London will allow the Flying Kangaroo to turn Australia’s geographical isolation into an advantage, but will not rep…

Qantas flags fortnightly fare reviews as prices continue to rise

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March 19, 2026
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In remarks made at the Destination Australia 2026 tourism conference on Thursday, Qantas International CEO Cam Wallace said the ongoing Iran conflict has presented an “incredibly volatile and fast moving” situation which the airline is monitoring close…

Air race Piper lost power before F-35 near miss at Tindal, says ATSB

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March 19, 2026
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In its report into the incident on 28 August 2025, the safety watchdog noted that the PA-28, VH-TKX, had neither a functioning radio nor transponder due to a broken alternator, and was communicating with other pilots in the race via a group chat on the…

Sub-orbital spaceplane takes part in NZ Navy sensor trial

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March 19, 2026
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The experiment, known as the Dawn Aerospace Radar Tracking Experiment (DARTE), saw Dawn Aerospace operate its suborbital spaceplane Aurora from the Tāwhaki National Aerospace Centre, south of Christchurch. At sea, the Royal New Zealand Navy frigate HMN…

Researchers find major cause of aircraft carbon fibre degradation

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March 19, 2026
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The scientists from Monash University and RMIT examined different carbon fibre laminate designs under various hot and humid conditions, and found that moisture, rather than “specific temperature or humidity”, is the “dominant factor controlling how the…

No ADF personnel injured in Iranian strike near UAE air base

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March 19, 2026
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An accommodation block and medical facility were damaged by fire during the attack on 18 March, the PM said during a press conference in Tasmania.