Chief Executive Officer of the Airports Vanuatu Limited, Jason Rakau, says the reduced number of international air services, is a result of the COVID-19 crisis.
According to an advisory to the industry stakeholders, Rakau said “Rest assured that like most airports around the world, we remain first and foremost concerned with protecting the health and welfare of travellers, our staff and the public and reducing opportunities for transmission of communicable diseases. We continue to receive regular updates and advice from the COVID-19 Taskforce, global aviation industry organizations and through Air Vanuatu and our overseas airline partners."
Mr Rakau continued, “The situation today is unprecedented and reflects the public health risks associated with COVID-19 and protecting our people. Our airline partners, in reducing their schedules, are reacting to the border controls implemented in the interests of public health”.
“The changes announced today will affect our staff and we are having ongoing discussions with our team. Wherever possible we will aim to avoid redundancies and retain our people and their employment. We will consider a range of measures to maintain employment such as the use of accrued leave. AVL, above all else, prides itself on our staff and we are committed to working with them through this challenging time whilst consulting with our Government shareholder representatives".
Kevin Abel, AVL’s General Manager of Operations commented, “Whilst the outlook is challenging right now and we cannot know how long this period will continue, inevitably it will pass. AVL Management’s focus is on safe, secure and compliant operations of all services, both domestic and international, in partnership with our airline partners, and maintaining our international aviation infrastructure for the time when international services are able to resume with greater frequency”.
Photo supplied Caption: CEO of AVL, Jason Rakau