The four trainees studied 10 weeks online and 20 weeks face-to-face, and will now return to Australia for additional instruction in Airservices’ Melbourne facility before being sent to control towers at regional airports for their final field training.
It was the biggest Pitch Black in the exercise’s 43-year history with missions of more than 50 aircraft at a time in one of the world’s largest military training areas.
DFDS has told the market that they will be sailing solo on the busy Dover-Calais route, as their space charter agreement with P&O Ferries expires at the end of August.
Speaking on ABC Radio National on Thursday morning, Rod Sims insisted that the Australian aviation market can sustain more competition, but said this is being held back by poor policy settings around slot management at Sydney Airport.
The news comes as three of Australia’s four major gateways – Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane – remain below pre-COVID levels, while Perth has exceeded them on the back of strong regional passenger figures.