Air connectivity between Port Vila and Santo impacted after Air Taxi crash

July 27, 2024 12:24 am | Posted in Business News | Share now TwitterFacebook

By Charles Hakwa.

Cindy Oritz -Gaston of the Espiritu Santo Tourism Association (ESTA) says the recent crash involving a Britten Norman Islander aircraft from Air Taxi, has indeed had an impact on connectivity flights between Santo and Port Vila.

While The Espiritu Hotel worked diligently to find alternative solutions to maintain the connection, the interruption has caused cancellation of flights.

The Espiritu Hotel and Car Rentals Operations Manager says their hotel organised some regular charter flights to fill the gap in domestic transportation. These flights were organized with Unity Airlines and Air Taxi, however after the crash last week which claimed a life. The latter have had their Air Operator Certificate suspended by the Civil Aviation Authority of Vanuatu (CAAV), leaving Unity Airlines as the only operator.

Safety is ESTA’s utmost priority, and while the recent incidents are concerning, they took all necessary precautions to ensure the safety of their passengers because they strongly advocate for enhanced aviation safety in Vanuatu.

ESTA believes that rigorous safety standards and regular maintenance checks are crucial for the well-being of passengers and the reputation of our tourism industry and they would like to see continuous improvement and stringent safety protocols implemented across all aviation services in the region.

Gaston said it is possible that such incidents can cause concern among tourists. However, ESTA believes that by addressing these safety issues head-on and ensuring transparency and continuous improvement in aviation safety, they can mitigate these fears.

Recently Director of the Department of Tourism (DoT), Paul Pio, had mentioned that aviation safety is and will always be paramount.