Lulutai Airlines (L8, Tongatapu) has wet-leased an ATR72-500 from Air Chathams (3C, Chatham Island) to ply the Tongatapu-Vava'u route over the upcoming holiday period. ZK-MCO (msn 628) ferried from Auckland International to Tongatapu on December 12, 2024, before commencing operations for Lulutai two days later.
Air Chathams CCO Duane Emeny told ch-aviation the aircraft was in Tonga until December 24, along with two pilots, two cabin crew, one engineer, and one ground support team member.
Jackson Afu of Lulutai Airlines told the news site Matangi Tonga that the plane would operate 12 roundtrips per week between Tongatapu and Vava'u. He said there was heavy pre-Christmas demand on the route and that Lulutai was having no trouble filling the 72-passenger aircraft. Earlier this year, Air Chathams sent a Saab 340B to Lulutai for three months to cover a spike in passenger demand.
According to ch-aviation PRO airlines data, Lulutai operates from Tongatapu Airport near the country's capital to Eua, Vava'u, and Ha'apai. It has a single DHC-6-400 operated by Fiji Link (FJA, Nadi), a Harbin Yunshuji Y12, and an out-of-service Saab 340B(Plus).
