Jetstar Airways Airbus Airbus A321-251NX(LR) (A321neo) VH-OYR First Visit into Central Queensland at Proserpine (Whitsunday Coast) Airport - Plus More!

On Friday 6 March, Jetstar Airways Airbus A321-251NX(LR) (A321neo) VH-OYR made its first visit into Central Queensland at Proserpine (Whitsunday Coast) Airport. It operated as JST840/1 from and back to Sydney.

VH-OYR was delivered into Melbourne (Tullamarine) from Hamburg, Germany in late October 2024 and entered service at the end of that month.

Of interest, making it a double, also on Friday 6 March, fellow Jetstar A321 VH-VWX was back at Proserpine Airport operating the JST832/3 service from and back to Melbourne (Tullamarine).

Would have been a great sight to see two A321s on the deck at the same time!

File photo taken by Ryan Hothersall  ©

Jetstar Airways Airbus A320-232(WL) VH-X3C (ex 9V-JSL) Makes First Visit to CQ at Hervey Bay (Fraser Coast) Airport

On Thursday 5 March, Jetstar Airways Airbus A320-232(WL) VH-X3C was noted making its first visit to Central Queensland at Hervey Bay (Fraser Coast) Airport as it completed the JST890/1 service from and back to Sydney.

Of interest, VH-X3C is one of nine twelve recently delivered Airbus A320 aircraft that have entered service with Jetstar Airways that all previously operated with the collapsed Jetstar Asia. This A320 was previously operated by Jetstar Asia as 9V-JSL.

9V-JSL was ferried from Singapore to Melbourne (Tullamarine) at the start of October last year. It was then placed on the Australian Aircraft Register as VH-X3C with this registration marking 'taped' over the Singaporean registration marking.

It was 'delivered' to Jetstar on Thursday 8 January after ferrying from Alice Springs to Melbourne (Tullamarine) with VH-X3C then entering service around a week later.

Of interest, the collapse of Jetstar Asia has seen nine twelve of their Airbus A320 ‘classic’ aircraft joining (or for three of them re-joining) the Jetstar Australia fleet.  We have provided details on all the 'original' nine A320s to join the Jetstar Australia fleet and it appears that an additional three are also now joining the fleet down under.  They are VH-X3A which is ex-, VH-X3R which is ex 9V-TRD & 9V-JSY and VH-X3C which is ex 9V-JSL (as described above).

File photos taken by Ryan Hothersall and Paul Howard  ©

Aerlink ATR 72-500 VH-FVY Completes New FIFO Charter Flight into Emerald Airport - Plus More!

Late on Tuesday 3 March, Aerlink ATR72-500 VH-FVY completed what is the second of a new Fly-in Fly-out (FIFO) charter route to Emerald Airport from and back to Brisbane as AL428/9.  It also completed a similar run last Tuesday night - see Blog post below!

File photo

Of interest, Aerlink looked to reportedly take delivery of another ATR at Perth airport in the early hours of Saturday 28 February currently registered as 2-ISLM which will reportedly become VH-FVX.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday 4 March, McDermott Aviation Group / Machjet International Cessna 525C CitationJet CJ4 bizjet VH-PIY as "Machflight 41" flew up from the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane to Mackay Airport before then flying back down to the Sunshine Coast.

And Koolardie Aviation (ZephAir Australia) Raytheon 58 Baron VH-NSM as 'ZD550' landed at Clermont Aerodrome from Townsville then departed back to there.

Of interest, Archer Aviation Service Cirrus SR22 VH-YJY made yet another visit to Clermont Aerodrome from its Archerfield base but on Tuesday 3 March.

Photo taken by Lloyd Fox  ©

Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Dassault Falcon 7X Bizjet A56-003 "Envoy 24" Calls into CQ Airports - Plus More!

On Wednesday 4 March, Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Dassault Falcon 7X bizjet A56-003 flying as "Envoy 24" flew up from Canberra and Coffs Harbour to Bundaberg Airport.

A56-003 EVY24 arrives into Townsville

It then departed to Hamilton Island Airport and then later completed a missed approach at Cairns and then to Townsville where it appears to be staying for the night.

UPDATE!  On Thursday 5 March, RAAF Falcon 7X bizjet A56-003 again as "Envoy 24" flew down from Townsville to Proserpine (Whitsunday Coast) Airport and then Gladstone Airport. It then flew back to Canberra via a missed approach at Tamworth.

Meanwhile, also on Wednesday 4 March, Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Boeing B737-7ES / E-7A Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) aircraft A30-001 as "Wedgetail 20" flew up from RAAF Base Williamtown to complete four missed approaches at Hervey Bay (Fraser Coast) Airport before then flying down to complete another missed approach at Coffs Harbour before then returning back to Williamtown.

Photo taken by Graham Aspinall  ©️

LifeFlight Agusta Westland AW139 Helicopter VH-XIJ "Rescue 522" Completes Medical Evacuation from 'Carnival Adventure' off Bundaberg - Plus More!

On Monday 2 March, LifeFlight Agusta Westland AW139 helicopter VH-XIJ as "Rescue 522" flew up from Bundaberg Airport to Gladstone Airport and then down to the Sunshine Coast before later returning to Bundaberg Airport and then completing two Search and Rescue (SAR) flights to the North-East of Bundy. 

File photo

Surveillance Australia (Leidos SAR Services Pty Ltd) Bombardier CL-600-2B16 Challenger 604 bizjet VH-XNC as "Rescue 440" flew down from Cairns to oversee the SAR operations by VH-XIJ "Rescue 522" for a few hours then returned to Cairns.  It is believed this may have also included a passenger extraction from the cruise ship 'Carnival Adventure'.

Meanwhile, also on Monday 2 March, pair of Queensland Government (QGAir) Rescue (State of Queensland) Agusta AW139 helicopters were noted at Rockhampton Airport. VH-ESH flew down from Townsville and then departed onwards to Archerfield as "Rescue 500", while VH-EGK arrived from Archerfield as "Rescue 500" and then departed to Townsville.

And Far North Queensland based Diamond DA 50 C VH-88R visited Mackay Airport from Mareeba.

Finally, over the weekend on both Saturday 28 February and Sunday 1 March, NQ Heli-Worx (Townsville) Embraer EMB-500 Phenom 100 VH-8GK continued to operate flights between Townsville and Hamilton Island Airport - including three return flights on Sunday.  VH-8GK operated one more flight (which seems to be the last one for now) on Monday 2 March.

And also on Saturday 28 February,  the locally-based Embraer EMB-550 Legacy 500 bizjet N142GZ  flew back to Mackay Airport from Brisbane after flying down to there at the start of last week.

Plus Cirrus SR22 N312GM looked to complete airwork at Maryborough Airport while on a flight out of and back to the Sunshine Coast.

Photo taken by Brodie Lawson  ©

Two RAAF Boeing B737-7ES / E-7A Wedgetails A30-002 & A30-004 Complete Airwork at CQ Airports

On Thursday 26 February, a pair of Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Boeing B737-7ES / E-7A Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) aircraft were noted completing airwork at a couple of different Central Queensland Airports during two separate visits.

File photo

Wedgetail A30-002 as "Wedgetail 14" flew up from RAAF Base Williamtown to complete three missed approaches at Rockhampton Airport before then returning to Williamtown.

Later, A30-004 as "Wedgetail 36" flew up also from Williamtown but to complete a missed approach at Hervey Bay (Fraser Coast) Airport before then also returning back to Williamtown.

Photo taken by Scott Harris  ©

Jetstar Airways Airbus Airbus A321-251NX (A321neo) VH-OYW First Visit into Central Queensland at Proserpine (Whitsunday Coast) Airport

On Tuesday 24 February, it is believed that Jetstar Airways Airbus A321-251NX (A321neo) VH-OYW made its first visit into Central Queensland at Proserpine (Whitsunday Coast) Airport.  It operated as JST840/1 from and back to Sydney.

VH-OYW was delivered into Melbourne (Tullamarine) from Hamburg in January 2025 and entered service later in that month.

File photo taken by Tony Haynes  ©

South Australia-based Hawker Beechcraft B300 Super King Air VH-UXF Pops into CQ Airports - Plus More!

On Tuesday 24 February, South Australia-based Hawker Beechcraft B300 Super King Air VH-UXF flew up from Cessnock to Collinsville Aerodrome and then across to Proserpine (Whitsunday Coast) Airport. It then returned over the same route back to Cessnock.

File photo

While RDO Equipment Co. Pilatus PC-12/47 VH-WPH visited Emerald Airport from Toowoomba.

And Mitchell Water Cessna 525 Citation M2 bizjet VH-WMY flew up from Archerfield to Chinchilla Aerodrome and then Mackay Airport. It then flew back South. VH-WMY had flown up from Melbourne (Essendon) to Chinchilla Aerodrome and down to Archerfield on Monday 23 February.

UPDATE!  VH-WMY visited Roma Airport during a busy day of flying on Thursday 26 February.

Finally, on Monday 23 February, the locally-based Embraer EMB-550 Legacy 500 bizjet N142GZ was back in the air, flying up from Sydney to Mackay Airport and then down to Brisbane. It had originally flown down to Sydney from Mackay Airport back on Australia Day.

And SHM Aviation (Gold Coast) Textron Aviation (Cessna) 525B CitationJet CJ3 bizjet VH-TCS flew up from Archerfield to Roma Airport and then to Townsville.

Photo taken by Tony Haynes  ©

Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Boeing C-17A Globemaster III A41-207 "Stallion 63" Spotted Completing Airwork at Emerald Airport - Plus Some Overnight Action Sunday Night!

On Monday 23 February, Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Boeing C-17A Globemaster III A41-207 as "Stallion 63" flew up from RAAF Base Amberley to complete a missed approach at Emerald Airport.  It then flew back to complete more circuits at Amberley.

Meanwhile, late on Sunday 22 February, Surveillance Australia (Leidos SAR Services Pty Ltd) Bombardier CL-600-2B16 Challenger 604 bizjet VH-XNC as "Rescue 440" arrived into Rockhampton Airport from Cairns via a loop overhead Bourke in New South Wales.  It then departed to Cairns.

And also late on Sunday 22 February, Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton A57-002 as "Albatross 1" flew from RAAF Base Tindal and flew across Far North Queensland and then down and back up the Queensland coast before returning to Tindal in the early hours of the morning.

Several other RAAF assets were noted operating out of RAAF Bases Amberley and Townsville including RAAF Alenia C-27J Spartan transport aircraft A34-010 as "Wallaby 01" which was noted flying at low level through inland Central Queensland.

Photos taken by 'AC'  ©

NQ Heli-Worx (Townsville) Embraer EMB-500 Phenom 100 Bizjet VH-8GK at Hamilton Island Airport Multiple Times Over the Weekend! - Plus More!

Across the weekend, on both Saturday 21 February and Sunday 22 February, NQ Heli-Worx (Townsville) Embraer EMB-500 Phenom 100 bizjet VH-8GK was noted completing three flights between Townsville and Hamilton Island Airport.

File photo

UPDATE!  Over the next week (and more) VH-8GK continued to complete daily (or more) runs between Townsville and Hamilton Island Airport.

Meanwhile, also on Saturday 21 February, Graham Aviation (Cairns) Cessna 510 Citation Mustang bizjet VH-FMZ visited Hamilton Island Airport from Mareeba and Cairns.

McDermott Aviation Group / Machjet International Cessna 525A CitationJet CJ2 bizjet VH-SUY as "Machflight 38" completed airwork at Maryborough Airport and Hervey Bay (Fraser Coast) Airport while on a flight out of and back to the Sunshine Coast.

Gold Coast-based Rockwell Commander 114 VH-AYH visited Rockhampton Airport from Archerfield.

Alliance Airlines Fokker F-100 VH-UQC completed a rugby league charter flight to Rockhampton Airport from and back to Brisbane as UTY500/1.

R-Mach Aviation Extra EA 300L VH-LXT arrived back into Rockhampton Airport from the South. It had flown out of Rockhampton Airport to Redcliffe during the week.

And across the last couple of days and into the weekend, Hughes Aviation (Hughes Pastoral Group) (Gympie) Pilatus PC-12/47E NGX VH-8HP flew up from Archerfield to Emerald Airport and then further to Julia Creek, Longreach, Winton and Mount Isa Airports before then heading to Alpurrurulam and Tennant Creek.  It then flew West from Tenant Creek to Inverway then back East to Alpurrurulam and Mount Isa and before flying down from there to Caldervale Station then Archerfield.  It then returned to Caldervale Station. 

UPDATE!  On Monday 23 February,  PC-12 VH-8HP departed Caldervale Station to Emerald Airport and then Tierawoomba where it stayed. 

Finally, also on Sunday 22 February, the Queensland Police Service (Airwing) / Queensland Government (State of Queensland) Beech B300 King Air 350i VH-8TT flew up from Brisbane to survey work around the Rockhampton area before landing Rockhampton Airport for fuel before then departing back to Brisbane. 

And Hewitt Agribusiness (Brisbane) Pilatus PC-12/47E VH-8HG (ex N175NG) landed at Degunnie from Archerfield.

UPDATES!  On Monday 23 February, PC-12 VH-8HG departed Degunnie to Longreach Airport and then Alice Springs.  Over the next few days, it then completed flights between Alice Springs and Roma Airport before then returning to Archerfield from Alice Springs on Friday 27 February.

Photo taken by Tony Haynes  ©