Air Vanuatu

Civil Status Officer-in-Charge, Moses Banga said, ‘immediately after the Air Vanuatu's announcement people have been turning up in huge numbers to process there National ID's and a lot of people are frustrated but do not realize they have become victim to misinformation.’

Mr Banga made the comments as dozens of people converged at the Ministry of Internal Affairs hoping to produce national ID cards.

About three months ago, Air Vanuatu announced its new ID requirements in the hope that it would combat the high number of fraudulent practices with customers.

Commencing 17 June 201, the new flight will be the only direct service between the two cities, expanding the airline’s offering in Australia and providing greater access to Vanuatu.

With tickets now available to book, Air Vanuatu will operate three direct flights per week from Melbourne with onward connections to 28 destination across Vanuatu.

Derek Nice, Air Vanuatu’s Managing Director and CEO said he is thrilled to be launching the only direct service between Melbourne and Vanuatu.

The new policy will initially be rolled out on flights from Port Vila, Santo and Tanna.

The rest of the domestic ports will implement the new check-in requirement from 1 May 2019.

The airline has introduced the new check-in requirement because of a number of fraudulent identity practices in the past.

Air Vanuatu announced its new policy in October last year so that passengers would have sufficient time to arrange identification.

The Textron Aviation manufactured Grand Caravan EX is a novel improved, newly-advanced and efficient aeroplane which outperforms all other single-engine utility turboprops currently operating in Vanuatu, no matter the conditions or the mission.

Effective 01 February 2019, Air Vanuatu passengers flying from Port Vila, Santo and Tanna will be required to present photo ID at check-in.

This new policy will eventually be enforced across the entire domestic network with the remaining ports requiring photo identification by 01 May 2019.

The airline said they had endured several cases of adults traveling on children’s fares which was a fraudulent act, and impacted on revenue.

The announcement was officially conveyed to the airline by IATA on 10 August with Air Vanuatu’s inclusion on the IOSA Registry valid until August 2020.

To become a registered IOSA carrier, airlines must satisfy more than 950 criteria, covering all aspects of airline operations from safety systems, training and reporting to flight operations.

Mr. Nice brings more than 30 years of experience in the aviation industry, including CEO and other executive positions in Canada; assignments in the US, the Caribbean and South America; and operational support, consulting and marketing relationships with airlines in 30 different countries, including Asia and the Pacific.

He brings a strong background in governance, operations and commercial management, including experience in selecting and mentoring high performance management teams.

Mr. Nice has an MBA and a B.Sc. in Air Transport Management and is a chartered director.

Additional flights announced in January will operate during peak seasons from now until January 2020.

The additional aircraft will operate new services between Brisbane and Santo and Vila on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.

“Leasing this aircraft allows our own 737 to increase services to Sydney and Auckland,” chief executive officer Joseph Laloyer said.

The additional aircraft will operate new services between Brisbane and Santo and Vila on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays each week commencing from 18 June 2018.

 “Leasing this aircraft allows our own 737 to increase services to Sydney and Auckland,” chief executive officer Joseph Laloyer said in a statement.

 “During peak seasons, we will be operating daily flights to Sydney and four flights a week to Auckland. We expect the additional capacity to make a significant boost to tourism in Vanuatu,” he said.

At its first meeting held last week, the Board decided its members would only get session allowances and no monthly salary.

The new board was appointed about two months after Prime Minister Charlot Salwai terminated the former Board of Directors led Jhon Lum.

The termination was made on August 29, 2017, according to a Resolution of the Shareholders Decision of July 12.

The termination letters of the six were signed by Salwai.