Veteran aviation journalist and writer for Business News Geoffrey Thomas has passed away in Perth at the age of 74.
Mr Thomas, who had been contributing to BN since 2023, died after a short heart-related illness.
With a career reporting on every aspect of the aviation industry spanning more than four decades, Mr Thomas had become the go-to journalist and commentator for media organisations around the world.
For many, he became the face of news coverage during both the downing of MH17 over east Ukraine in 2014, and the yet unresolved crash of MH370 in the Indian Ocean a few months earlier.
He listed his first connection to the aviation industry as being back in 1970 as a “dispatch officer, purser and loader” for MacRobertson Miller Airlines in Port Hedland, Tom Price and Exmouth.
From his deep passion for all things aviation, Mr Thomas was able to carve out a high-profile, respected and multi-award-winning career, including as Australasian Aviation Journalist of the Year in 2001, 2002, 2009 and 2011.
Since 1975, he had been either a contributor or the aviation editor of The West Australian with his expertise in regular demand across the globe from CNN, the BBC and Bloomberg to name a few media platforms.
Adding to his jammed-packed CV, were the aviation media businesses he created over the years.
Often described as a total gentleman and professional, Mr Thomas will be missed by his many journalist colleagues and friends, and by his wife Christine and children.
