Chartair (Australia) (Darwin) has announced it received a Pilatus PC-12 from sister carrier Air Link (LZ, Dubbo) and will base the aircraft at Darwin. ADS-B flight tracking data shows the aircraft, VH-AL4 (msn 1314), ferried to the Northern Territory capital from Sydney Bankstown via Cobar and Alice Springs on December 8, 2024.
Air Link acquired the 13-year-old turboprop in mid-2024, initially basing it at Bankstown. Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority records show the registration holder is Metro Holdings Australia Pty Ltd. That entity is also the registration holder of multiple other aircraft flown by Air Link and affiliated aeromedical operator AirMed.
With bases in Darwin, Alice Springs, and Katherine, Chartair operates a fleet of 41 aircraft, including Cessna (twin turboprop) 441s, Cessna (twin piston) 402Cs, 310Rs, Cessna (single turboprop) 208Bs, and Cessna (single piston) 210s, in addition to its new PC-12. The airline undertakes a mix of charter, scheduled passenger, and contracted mail flights.
Since arriving in Darwin, VH-AL4 has operated several roundtrips between Darwin and Truscott-Mungalalu. The latter airport is approximately 500 kilometres southwest of Darwin in the far north Kimberley district of Western Australia. The remote airport now primarily serves as a staging post for workers moving to and from offshore oil and gas fields in the Timor Sea and also serves as an aeromedical retrieval and search and rescue base.
Air Link continues to operate two other PC-12/47Es.
