Airnorth charters Embraer E190 to fly SpaceX recovery crew to Christmas Island

Australian regional carrier Airnorth flew a SpaceX recovery team to Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean on an Embraer E190, according to the Australian Aviation portal. The charter flight took place on August 15.

The trip was linked to the recovery of Ship 40, a SpaceX rocket component that had splashed down off Christmas Island after completing its mission. SpaceX said the roughly 52-metre piece of hardware had been drifting at sea before it was retrieved.

The company said Ship 40 launched from Texas on July 24 and came down in the water about 1,500 kilometres off the coast of Western Australia after finishing its flight. The Airnorth charter appears to have supported a crew change for personnel handling the recovery operation, rather than the retrieval itself.

No further details were given about how many passengers were on the charter or how long the operation on Christmas Island lasted. Airnorth normally operates scheduled services across northern Australia and into parts of Southeast Asia. This charter, tied to a commercial space mission, sits outside that routine work.

The episode shows how regional airlines are being drawn into logistics support for private space companies as launch and recovery operations expand into remote parts of the Asia-Pacific region.