Retired QantasLink Fokker F100 finds new home at Australian aviation museum

A retired QantasLink Fokker F100 has landed at Shellharbour Airport (WOL), where it will begin a new life as a public exhibit with the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS), following its final flight across Australia.

The aircraft, registered VH-NPU and named “Meekatharra,” was donated by QantasLink and became the second F100 the airline has given to HARS, after another was donated to the organization’s Parkes Museum in February 2026. 

It will now sit alongside Qantas’ first Boeing 747-400, VH-OJA, which the airline donated to HARS in 2015 and which has become one of the museum’s most visited attractions after 26 years of service.

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Nearly a decade of service across regional WA

Meekatharra began flying for QantasLink in December 2016, making it the last F100 added to the airline’s fleet. Before joining QantasLink, the aircraft flew for American Airlines and Austrian Airlines. 

Over its time with QantasLink, it logged more than 11,250 flight hours and roughly nine million kilometers across 7,543 flights, carrying an estimated one million passengers throughout regional Western Australia while supporting the region’s resource industry.

The F100 fleet has connected communities across Western Australia, including Kalgoorlie, Newman, and Paraburdoo. 

QantasLink’s broader Western Australian network currently operates more than 600 flights per week to over 25 regional destinations, along with routes to Darwin, Newcastle, Hobart, Christmas Island, and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Its current Western Australian fleet includes 40 aircraft across the Fokker 100, Airbus A319, and Airbus A320 types.

QantasLink is gradually retiring its F100 fleet in favor of Embraer E190 aircraft, aimed at improving reliability, fuel efficiency, and passenger comfort. The airline’s first E190 is expected to arrive at Perth Airport (PER) next month.

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QantasLink, HARS leaders mark aircraft’s retirement

Mark Dal Pra, Managing Director of QantasLink, said Meekatharra played an important role connecting regional communities across Western Australia for close to a decade. 

He added that HARS has become a natural home for some of the airline’s retired aircraft, helping preserve important parts of Australian aviation history, and thanked the volunteers who will help ensure the aircraft’s story continues to be told.

Bob De La Hunty, President and Chief Pilot of HARS, said the organization was honored that QantasLink entrusted it with another significant piece of Australian aviation history. 

He noted that Meekatharra will join Qantas’ first Boeing 747-400 and a former Qantas Boeing 707-138 in helping tell the story of the aircraft that connected regional communities and supported industry across Western Australia, adding that HARS volunteers remain passionate about keeping those stories alive for visitors.

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