Solomon Airlines to connect Port Vila to Santo and Tanna

November 5, 2024 9:53 pm | Posted in Business News | Share now TwitterFacebook

By Charles Hakwa.

Solomon Airlines will operate the busy domestic routes with direct flights to Santo and Tanna from the nation’s capital on a temporary basis, as the ATR 72 aircraft undergo maintenance check.

Last Week,the Daily Post reported that business leaders on Santo were frustrated by the timing, fearing financial losses due to the lack of regular air connectivity, which is one Vanuatu’s biggest problem. 

Director of Tourism, Paul Pio, said that his department welcomed the complementary air services offered by Solomon Airlines in partnership with Air Vanuatu, to maintain some level of critical connectivity between the busiest domestic traveling hubs – Efate, Santo and Tanna during the end of year peak season. 

He stressed that “this is a temporary solution, which does not fully address our continued challenge. 

“However, we are concerned about the ongoing lack of regular connectivity with the outer islands. We encourage collaborations and dialogues between relevant stakeholders on finding proactive solutions to address this shortfall. This must be an area of priority.

“Tourism heavily relies on connectivity and aviation access is not only restricted to tourism, but to also other equally important sectors such as health, education, trade, and family reconnections.”

The aircraft to be used as a temporary replacement of Air Vanuatu’s ATR 72 is a Canadian manufactured Dash 8 -100, a high wing turboprop aircraft which seats 38 passengers, has an average cruising speed of 460 km per hour. 

The carrying capacity is a smaller to the ATR 72, however it will keep the main air routes active as both aircrafts have almost similar speeds. 

Before the merger with Air Vanuatu in 2004, Vanair operated one of these aircrafts which connected Santo and Tanna to Port Vila, so this will be like travelling down memory lane for a lot of older travellers. 

In May, Chairman of the Espiritu Santo Tourism Association (ESTA) Reyman Leung said that if another airline apart from Air Vanuatu connected Santo to Port Vila, ESTA suggested, using the smaller ATR42 aircrafts to ensure that the route and frequency remains sustainable. 

The Dash 8-100 fits into this capacity range as the ATR 42 carries 42 passengers, just a bit more than the Dash 8 -100.