Air Vanuatu

The aircraft will be on long-term lease from Capstone Aviation PTE Ltd. It is currently undergoing maintenance checks and being painted in Air Vanuatu livery before its expected arrival in Vila at the end of the month.

 The new aircraft will be registered as YJ-AV12.

 “The Twin Otter will be a welcomed addition to our domestic fleet and we plan to lease or purchase more of these aircraft before the end of the year, “chief executive officer Joseph Laloyer said.

A statement said Airports Vanuatu Limited (AVL) completed repair work to the affected pavement area on Monday afternoon.

Air Vanuatu inspected the work and advised it was completed to their satisfaction.

The airline has arranged for an independent assessor to inspect the entire runway and provide another thorough update this week.

AVL and Air Vanuatu staff will continue to inspect the runway prior to each arrival and departure to ensure it continues to be safe for jet operations.

“From our CFO to our GM of Safety, cabin crew to sales staff, women play an important role at Air Vanuatu,” Chief Executive Officer Joseph Laloyer said.

“The leadership and camaraderie is hugely beneficial to our younger employees. We’re very fortunate to have such talented women at the airline.”

The new service will operate from Port Moresby to Honiara on Fridays, Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.                            

The Honiara the codeshare service will operate from Honiara to Port Moresby on Saturdays, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

The codeshare also extends to a weekly Honiara-Port Vila-Honiara service into Bauerfield International Airport, Port Vila, operating Honiara on Tuesdays and returning to Honiara on Wednesdays.

RNZI reports the airline is currently the only airline flying between Vanuatu and New Zealand after Air New Zealand suspended its services in January because of safety concerns about the runway in Port Vila.

Temporary repairs to the runway have been completed and Virgin Australia has resumed its services from Australia, but Air New Zealand still refuses to return.

In a statement, Air Vanuatu says it is anticipating strong growth in the second half of the year with solid forward bookings.

The changes were made known by the minister responsible for Air Vanuatu (Operations) Ltd, Prime Minister Charlot Salwai Tabimasmas in a letter to the airline’s Chief Executive Officer, Joseph Laloyer.

The prime minister advised that the shareholders of the company had decided on Thursday, 7 April 2016 to remove the directors of the company and appoint new directors.

Air New Zealand, Virgin Airways and Qantas have suspended their operations to Port Vila's Bauerfield International Airport because of concern over the condition of the runway.

Air Vanuatu said an assessment by the Australian firm ACG found no sign of any debris and it recommended sweeping should continue until the runway can be repaired.

The new aircraft landed safely in front of the president of the republic, Father Baldwin Lonsdale, the caretaker prime minister Sato Kilman, diplomats and business people.

The chief executive of Air Vanuatu, Joseph Laloyer, said the new plane allows the airline to pick up some of the slack after Air New Zealand, Qantas and Virgin Australia suspended flights into Port Vila.

The national flag carrier touched down at 9.30am. Excited members of the public who gathered around the airport to witness the first landing would not take heed of AVL’s security warnings not to take pictures. They snapped as many pictures as they could.

Air New Zealand has suspended flights to Vanuatu’s capital, saying the runway has gradually deteriorated, with loose material on the surface making it unsafe for jet aircraft.

Qantas has also suspended its code-sharing flights with Air Vanuatu, and Virgin Australia is sending experts to assess the runway.