Qantas announces Sydney to Cape Town direct

Qantas has revealed plans to launch a new seasonal service, and it comes as no surprise that Sydney has been chosen as the departure point.

Connecting Sydney with Cape Town the new service takes off from October 2027, providing Australian travelers with a direct link to one of South Africa's most popular destinations for the first time. The new route represents a significant milestone in Australian aviation, eliminating the need for passengers to connect through Johannesburg or another international hub when travelling between Sydney and Cape Town.

The inaugural service is scheduled from the 19th of October 2027, with operations continuing until mid-March 2028.

Qantas has allocated flight numbers QF89 and QF90 to the new Sydney–Cape Town operation.

The service will operate on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
Outbound – 

• QF89: Sydney to Cape Town
• Operating days: Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays
• Scheduled departure: 9:15 am
• Scheduled arrival: 2:40 pm (same day)
• Approximate flight duration: 14 hours 25 minutes.

Return – 

• QF90: Cape Town to Sydney
• Departure airport: Cape Town International Airport (CPT)
• Arrival airport: Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD)
• Operating frequency: Three times weekly
• Scheduled departure: 4:40 pm
• Scheduled arrival: 1:45 pm the following day
• Approximate flight duration: 14 hours 25 minutes.

All times are local to their respective airports.

A morning at New Farm Park

Yesterday, my family, my daughter's dog Alfie and I returned to New Farm Park for our regular gathering, enjoying a leisurely stroll along the waterfront before stopping at a café for a refreshing drink.

SINGAPORE AIRLINES AIRBUS A350-941 9V-SHJ (MSN 328)
SQ256 OFF TO SINGAPORE (SIN) 7 YEARS  

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA BOEING 737-MAX 8 VH-8IH (MSN 66650)
VA045 OFF TO DENPASAR (DPS) 2 YEARS

QANTAS BOEING 737-838 VH-VZE (MSN 34199)
QF57 OFF TO PORT MORESBY (POM) 18 YEARS

CHINA SOUTHERN AIRBUS A330-323 B-5967 (MSN 1636)
CZ382 OFF TO GUANGZHOU (CAN) 11 YEARS

QANTASLINK EMBRAER E190AR VH-UZF (MSN 19000166)
QLK357 OFF TO HONIARA (HIR) 18 YEARS

JETSTAR BOEING 787-8 VH-VKA (MSN 36227)
JQ9 OFF TO TOKYO (NRT) 13 YEARS

CHINA EASTERN AIRBUS A330-343 B-1066 (MSN 1841)
MU716 OFF TO SHANGHAI (PVG) 8 YEARS

QANTAS AIRBUS A330-303 VH-QPE (MSN 593)
QF51 OFF TO SINGAPORE (SIN) 22 YEARS

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA BOEING 737-8SA VH-IJR (MSN44219)
VA1393 ARRIVING FROM ADELAIDE (ADL) 12 YEARS

QUEENSLAND GOVERNMENT BEECH KING AIR 250 VH-SGQ (MSN FL-461) 

QANTASLINK DASH 8 400 VH-LQK (MSN 4415)
QLK363D ARRIVING FROM ROCKHAMPTON (ROK) 14 YEARS

QANTASLINK EMBRAER E190AR VH-XVL (MSN 19000106)
QLK1829 ARRIVING FROM MACKAY (MKY) 19 YEARS

Seven Flights Targeted By Suspected Bomb Threats in Europe Within Hours

Seven passenger planes were targeted by suspected bomb threats in Europe within hours of each other on Tuesday, less than a day after another flight was forced to divert because of an alert. Planes landing in Poland, Spain Italy and Bulgaria were all impacted in separate incidents, although all seven were later declared to be safe.

The first bomb threat on Tuesday was announced on board a LOT Polish airlines flight from London Heathrow to Warsaw Chopin Airport. The Boeing 737 MAX aircraft landed at Modlin airport in the Polish capital at 10.01 a.m. local time. Chopin is within the city limits ⁠and Modlin is about 22 miles from the capital. The threat was later called off.

An SAS flight from Copenhagen in Denmark to Chopin airport also faced a bomb threat but landed as normal on Tuesday, according to Danish media. The airline said in a statement, cited by other media, that the flight had landed safely and passengers disembarked. Polish authorities later said the threat was not confirmed.

Modlin Airport, which had closed while the incident was dealt with, later reopened. A Warsaw-Chopin airport spokesperson told Reuters the ​airport was continuing operations.

In Italy, a Ryanair flight from Lisbon landed at Rome’s Fiumicino airport on Tuesday morning after an email claimed a bomb was on board, according to an unnamed official speaking to The Associated Press. No explosives were found after a search by bomb disposal experts.

Another Ryanair flight, from Dublin, was escorted to Fiumicino by Italy’s air force but no explosives were discovered, the official said.

In Bulgaria, Transport Minister Georgi Peev told Bulgarian News Agency that bomb threats were received against two aircraft, one from Bergamo and the other from Dublin, but no explosives were found. Bulgarian media had earlier reported one of the planes had arrived from Israel. Authorities did not initially disclose details of the airlines or the number of passengers involved.

Meanwhile, a Ryanair plane which had departed from Manchester, England, made an emergency landing at Murcia airport in southern Spain, following another threat.

It was not immediately clear if the incidents on Tuesday were linked. They came a day after a Wizz Air flight from London Luton to Sofia; Bulgaria made an emergency landing in Budapest after a bomb threat. The airline said afterward that security checks found it was a false alarm.

Last month, an Austrian Airlines flight from Tel Aviv to Vienna was diverted to Sofia following a bomb threat. Bulgarian MiG-29 fighter jets escorted the aircraft on October 18 but the plane continued to Vienna after checks found no threat.

China Southern Airlines pulls out of Darwin

China Southern Airlines will suspend its direct Darwin to China flights after only a year of operation, making it the latest in a suite of scrapped international routes out of Darwin.

The Darwin (DRW/YPDN) to Guangzhou (CAN/ZGGG) route launched in December last year and will cease at the end of its current season, with the final flight leaving Darwin on the 3rd of December.

It was the only flight operating directly between China and the NT, and the farthest-reaching route out of the Territory. A spokesperson from the Airport Development Group (ADG), which operates Darwin International Airport, said the call was a commercial decision by China Southern.

"Although ADG is disappointed by the airline's decision, decisions regarding individual routes and service schedules are commercial decisions made by airlines," they said.

"Travelers from Darwin continue to have connectivity to China and other international destinations through established hubs including Singapore (SIN/WSSS), Denpasar (DPS/WADD) and Dili" (DIL/YPDL)

The flight is the latest in a series of short-lived international routes out of Darwin. In 2025, Qantas launched a direct flight between Darwin and Singapore while AirAsia introduced services from Darwin to Bali and Kuala Lumpur. By June 2026, Qantas had reduced its Darwin to Singapore flights to cover the peak tourism season only, while AirAsia had pulled out of Darwin entirely.

Looking back on Qantas 32

Qantas Flight 32 was a scheduled passenger flight from London (LHR/EGLL) to Sydney (SYD/YSSY) via Singapore (SIN/WSSS). 

QANTAS AIRBUS A380-842-VH-OQA (MSN 014)

On the 4th of November 2010, the aircraft operating the route, an Airbus A380, suffered an uncontained failure in one of its four Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines. The failure occurred over the Riau Islands, Indonesia, four minutes after takeoff from Singapore Changi Airport. After holding for almost two hours to assess the situation, the aircraft made a successful emergency landing at Changi. No injuries occurred to the passengers, crew, or people on the ground, despite debris from the aircraft falling onto houses in Batam.

The airplane took off from runway 20C at 09.56 local time. Following a normal takeoff, the crew retracted the landing gear and flaps. The crew reported that, while maintaining 250 kts in the climb and passing 7,000 ft above mean sea level, they heard two 'loud bangs', followed shortly after by indications of a failure of the No 2 engine. The aircraft levelled off and because of an overheat warning of engine No 2, thrust for this engine was moved to 'idle'. Meanwhile, at 10:02, when the airplane was flying over Batam Landmass, the crew radioed a PAN call to the Approach Controller citing a possible engine failure. At that time, the pilot of QFA 32 maintained height on 7,500 feet and requested to be on heading 150 degrees to investigate the problem but did not request to return to Singapore immediately.

At 11.45am Qantas 32 touched down on 20C, and as a result of the aircraft landing 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph) faster than its normal landing speed, four tyres were blown.

While the aircraft was stopping abeam taxiway E10, Changi’s Airport Emergency Service (AES) found that engine number 2 was damaged near the rear of the engine and fuel had leaked from the port side (left wing). Moreover, there was smoke from tyre number 7 and there were 4 tyres deflated, meanwhile, the pilot was not able to shut off engine number 1. Nevertheless, it was safe to disembark passengers. Exactly at 13:54, all passengers had been disembarked, and finally at 14:53, engine number 1 was finally able to be shutdown.

On later inspection, a turbine disc in the aircraft's number two engine (on the port side nearer the fuselage) was found to have disintegrated, causing extensive damage to the nacelle (a nacelle refers to the whole covering of an engine,) wing, fuel system, landing gear, flight controls, and engine controls, and a fire in a fuel tank that self-extinguished. The subsequent investigation concluded that the failure had been caused by the breaking of a stub oil pipe, which had been manufactured improperly.

The aircraft involved was an Airbus A380-842, registration number VH-OQA, serial number 014. The aircraft entered service in September 2008, it was the first of 8 A380 delivered to Qantas and had four Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines; it was named Nancy-Bird Walton in honour of an Australian aviation pioneer. After completing repairs in Singapore, estimated at A$139 million, the aircraft returned to Sydney in April 2012.

Nine Killed as Learjet 60 Crashes in Florida

An absolute tragic aviation accident has claimed the lives of nine people after a Bombardier Learjet 60 crashed into a residential neighbourhood in Palm Beach County, Florida, erupting into a massive fireball. The accident occurred at approximately 12:50 pm local time on Sunday the 1st of November 2026, near Greenacres, close to West Palm Beach.

The aircraft was operating a private flight from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS/KAUS) in Texas to North Eleuthera Airport (ELH/MYEH) in the Bahamas when disaster struck. Flight-tracking information indicates that the aircraft was cruising at high altitude before encountering increasingly difficult conditions over Florida.

Communications between the flight crew and air traffic control provide a disturbing account of the aircraft's final minutes.

The pilot initially reported icing conditions and moderate turbulence, describing the ice as manageable. The crew also advised controllers that they were encountering precipitation and requested a climb from their assigned altitude of 35,000 feet to 37,000 feet in an attempt to find smoother conditions.

However, shortly after the climb was approved, the situation deteriorated dramatically. The pilot reported that the aircraft was descending at approximately 10,000 feet per minute. Moments later, the descent rate had reportedly increased to 20,000 feet per minute, with the aircraft also experiencing an overspeed condition.

A mayday call was transmitted as the crew desperately attempted to communicate the seriousness of their situation. In one of the most distressing moments captured in the air traffic control recordings, the pilot reportedly told controllers: "We're going to crash into the ground."

The final transmission from the cockpit was reportedly: "We're out of time."

Air traffic controllers subsequently attempted to re-establish communications, but there was no response. Flight-tracking information from Flightradar24 indicates that the Learjet entered a steep descending right turn, with its vertical descent rate reportedly exceeding 32,000 feet per minute. The last altitude data received by Flightradar24 showed the aircraft at approximately 8,750 feet before tracking was lost.

The aircraft struck the ground near Military Trail, close to Cresthaven Boulevard, in a residential area of Palm Beach County. Dashcam footage captured the horrifying final moments, showing the aircraft descending at an extremely steep angle before impacting the ground and exploding into a massive fireball.


Aircraft Information:
Owner / Operator: LR60271 LLC

Aircraft: Learjet 60

Registration: N722BD

Serial Number: 60-271

Engines:  Pratt & Whitney Canada PW305A

First Flew: January 2004

Age: 22.9 Years

Our thoughts are with the families, friends and loved ones of all nine people who lost their lives in this tragic accident.

Hot chips at 38,000 feet - it's now a reality

Virgin Australia is breaking new ground for Aussie carriers with a fresh revamp of its in-flight food menu. Late last week, the airline introduced its new Economy and Business Class menus, revealing that hot chips will be served for the first time ever.

Virgin said the potato treat would go perfectly with its new TikTok-inspired Cheeseburger Toastie. The toastie was initially unveiled earlier this year, and since then, Virgin Australia has sold more than 50,000 of them in the skies. Andrew Cleary, the airline's chief customer officer, said they're always looking at ways to bring "the food people love on the ground into the air".

"Hot chips are a great example, with no Australian airline believed to have served them onboard before. It's taken months of testing to get them hot and crispy in the air," he said. However, they will only be available on flights longer than 90 minutes. That means people travelling to and from Sydney to Canberra, Sydney to Melbourne, and Sydney to Brisbane will miss out, as well as those heading to and from Melbourne and Hobart.

The airline is embracing the viral appeal of trendy foods, introducing matcha lattes, BOSS Iced Latte Coffee, chai lattes, a Jose Cuervo sparkling margarita, and its unique version of a Chicken Caesar wrap.

The Economy area isn't the only section to get a refreshed menu. Business Class will get an egg-and-cheese breakfast quesadilla, stir-fried beef in black bean sauce with rice and Asian greens, and seared beef with roasted vegetables, potato, and rosemary jus.