Australian airline Qantas on Saturday announced to cancel 400 domestic flights due to on-going engineer strike.

An industrial campaign by Jetstar's check-in staff could force the airline to increase fares, the company says.

Qantas has come under fire from shareholders over plans to give chief executive Alan Joyce a 71 per cent rise while the airline grapples with industrial disputes involving ground staff and engineers.

A plane carrying dozens of passengers has crashed in Papua New Guinea, and most of those on board are feared dead.

Australian Federal Tourism Minister Martin Ferguson on Thursday threatened to intervene in an industrial dispute at Qantas, warning trade unions they should not set out to damage local industry.

A Hawaiian Airlines passenger plane mistakenly entered a runway at Kansai airport in western Japan Wednesday night, forcing a cargo jet due to land to rearrange landing, Kyodo News reported Thursday.

Australia and Japan have signed an open skies aviation agreement that will allow Australian carriers fly into smaller Japanese airports, just as flag carrier Qantas looks to set up a low-cost airline partnership in Japan.

The competition regulator has indicated it will give its blessing to Virgin Australia's alliance with Singapore Airlines, the final plank in the Australian carrier's international strategy.

A private jet flying to the Gold Coast in south east Queensland has had a near miss with a Virgin Australia plane.

Qantas has announced it is grounding five aircraft and cutting up to 100 domestic flights a week as a result of ongoing industrial action.