Air Vanuatu cancelled Torres flight due to few passengers

March 18, 2026 10:10 pm | Posted in Business News | Share now TwitterFacebook

By Hilaire Bule.

People of Torres in TORBA Province have raised concerns over the service of Air Vanuatu following the cancellation of its flight last Friday.

Residents David Andrew and Paul Laurent said they were expecting to see the aircraft land at Loh Airport this week as promised on the eve of the recent TORBA Provincial Election.

They said on February 1, 2026, a Twin Otter landed at Loh Airport and told them that Air Vanuatu will resume normal flight on March 13, after two years that the airline has cut its service to them following financial problems.

They said that passengers were waiting at the airport on March 13, but the plane did not land.

Daily Post tried to establish why the airline cancelled its promised flight by making more than 10 phone calls yesterday with no response.

Andrew and Laurent said they were informed that the only reason for flight cancellation was due to insufficient number of the passengers.

They said that there were only three confirmed passengers who were ready to board the flight.

They said said Air Vanuatu has made another promise to service them on Friday, but felt that the airline will cancel its flight again because there are only five passengers on the list.

They appealed to the government and the national airline to prioritize providing service to the people over profit, as the airline has always claimed.

The pair said the airline must understand that Torres islands has a smaller population than other Vanuatu islands, so flights will never reach full capacity on a Twin Otter or islander aircraft.

Torres has a small population of 1,190 but is rich in marine resources, supplying coconut crabs to hotels and restaurants in Port Vila and Luganville.

The northernmost province faces challenges with both air and sea transport, as sea services only visit once a month.