There's also the important difference, Nige, that the airspace around Sydney is controlled and under full surveillance coverage. The Gong, of course, is OCTA and radar drops off below about 2000ft. That most definitely has implications for flight safety, particularly for a company as conservative on safety as Qantas. Hence, this is the way they want to play it to try and mitigate the risks.
End of the day, it's their aeroplane!
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