Vanuatu's Finance Minister John Salang has told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that Air Vanuatu (NF, Port Vila) will restart domestic operations by the end of July. The state-owned carrier suspended flights in early May, appointing Ernst & Young as administrators to resolve systemic financial and operational issues.
"We are trying everything possible to make sure a few of the planes are airborne by the end of July," he told the ABC's Pacific Beat programme this week. "We have a couple of Twin Otters and an Islander [operational] and the pilots are doing flight testing again."
Salong said fuel pump problems with Air Vanuatu's sole ATR72-600 had been fixed but the pilots needed refresher training in simulators, the closest being in either Australia or New Zealand. The minister hopes simulator slots will open soon, allowing that aircraft to resume flying. Air Vanuatu's sole jet, a B737-800 used to operate international flights to Australia, has been repossessed by Air Lease Corporation.
"We’re working toward resumption of domestic operations asap, starting with domestic operations," Administrator Morgan Kelly told ch-aviation. "We can confirm training flights have resumed as part of the process toward resumption of operations."
ch-aviation understands the administrator's baseline plan for Air Vanuatu is to keep it operating as a domestic carrier and that it is currently negotiating with an equity partner. Representatives of BlackRock visited Port Vila recently, and the capital's business circles have speculated that the global investment company will invest in Air Vanuatu as a domestic operator. Kelly declined to comment on this, only saying talks were ongoing with several parties.
Before it paused its flights, Air Vanuatu's domestic network connected Port Vila to dozens of airports, including Tanna, Espiritu Santo, and Sara. Air Vanuatu's demise has caused significant problems for local residents looking to move to and from the capital or between the islands, and there is now a critical shortage of capacity within the country. Air Vanuatu's international network included Sydney Kingsford Smith, Melbourne Tullamarine, Brisbane International, Nadi, and Nouméa La Tontouta. Operators such as Virgin Australia, Solomons - Solomon Airlines, and Fiji Airways have upped their operations into Port Vila to cover the international capacity shortfall. Qantas and Jetstar Airways will start flights to Port Vila later this year. However, none of this addresses the domestic capacity shortfall.
Salang also confirmed a tentative end-of-August end date for Air Vanuatu's administration but an agreement from creditors, who will take a haircut, still needs to be obtained.
