Vanuatu Civil Aviation Authority says it had no warning about Air New Zealand's decision to suspend flights to Port Vila.
The carrier suddenly suspended flights on Friday, citing concerns about foreign objects on the runway of Bauerfield Airport.
The Authority concedes that the runway is urgently due a resurfacing or repair.
Its acting director Naiyani Karu says Air New Zealand had carried out assessment of the Bauerfield Airport runway late last year.
"They didn't make a decision on the report until last Friday when they took the decision and that was it. We as the authority did not get a copy of the report."
Ms Karu says relevant local authorities have been meeting with Air New Zealand over the weekend.
She says the Authority and Airports Vanuatu Ltd are increasing actions to mitigate the runway problem, including stringent clearance of debris.
Air New Zealand is tightlipped about the decision, saying it only recently received information on the viability of continuing to operate services to Vanuatu safely and has moved as quickly as possible to respond.