“pictureEveryone is complaining, but it’s not good. Do not book on Air Vanuatu. ” These were the words of a taxi driver who left Vanuatu’s Bauerfield International Airport in March and headed to the center of Port Vila, the Pacific island nation’s coastal capital.
Two months on and the frequent cancellations and delays that have been synonymous with the national carrier over the past year, Air Vanuatu has entered voluntary liquidation, a government statement said. In some countries, 48% of gross domestic product comes from tourismbusiness owners are concerned that the tourism industry will bear the brunt of airline grounding.
“The livelihoods of thousands of people are Nivanuatu “Families and their dependents employed in hotels and resorts in Vanuatu are currently at risk,” the Vanuatu Hotel and Resort Association (VHRA) said in a statement. “Significant damage has been done to Vanuatu’s reputation in the international tourism market. Potential tourists are going elsewhere and wholesalers are selling to other destinations with fewer problems.”
Before the pandemic, the country of 83 islands welcomed around 90,000 tourists each year, drawn to its volcanic landscapes, pamphlet-worthy beaches and rich marine life. Most came from Australia and New ZealandVirgin Australia also operates flights to and from the islands, while Air Vanuatu The majority of air travelers in this country.
Joel Slattery, owner of Hotel The Moso on the island of the same name, said Vanuatu is in the midst of a post-pandemic tourism boom, but Air Vanuatu’s continued disrupted operations have made people unable to “go to their destination.” As such, it has been removed from the list.” ”. Mr Slattery, speaking from the balcony of the resort’s main building overlooking the sea, said several guests had been forced to forego their island experience over the past few months.
In April 2023, the airline’s only jet, a Boeing 737, entered service. Based in Brisbane. September 2023 25 flights or more It was canceled over the weekend due to other “ongoing engineering requirements.” Then, in January of this year, he was forced to stay on the tarmac again. Regular maintenance. The parts I need have not arrived yet.
Boeing last year warned of problems in its parts supply chain, which has made parts sourcing difficult across the aviation industry since the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
Stella Nomaro, office manager at Hideaway Island Resort and Marine Sanctuary on Efate Island, said news of the liquidation was already having an impact on hotel bookings as well as employees. “we have [had] This is to reduce the burden on staff. ” Proportion of tourism 35% of employment on tropical islands.
Rob McAllister, president of the Vanuatu Tourism Operators Association and managing director of Vanuatu Ecotours, said other factors such as cost of living and low tourism seasons may also have played a role.
Accountancy firm Ernst & Young Australia, the appointed liquidator “despite pressures on the industry as a whole”, said it believed “the outlook for Air Vanuatu is positive” and that safety and maintenance The company said it would resume service after a period of time.flight in the meantime was canceledyou’re wasting your vacation plans.
“There’s going to be some pain in the short term. The industry is going to have a quiet few weeks,” McAllister said. “But in the long term, we will need to address these issues with the national airline, so we will come out with a stronger destination. This is the start of that process.”
British newlywed Rebecca Allen said Air Vanuatu would suffer from a “reputation of unreliability” if it resurfaced. In May 2023, five months pregnant and with a one-year-old child, she and her husband Richard arrived at One Terminal Airport to wait to return to Sydney for her second wedding celebration. spent time. Their first wedding took place against the backdrop of a beach in Vanuatu. No jets were able to take them home that day or the next.
Although they missed the celebrations, they have still not been compensated a year later for the additional three days they had to spend in Port Vila (equivalent to about A$1,000).
“[I’m] I’m very upset because I can’t get my money back now,” Allen said, adding that it would be some time before she wanted to visit Vanuatu again. “I hope another airline comes in,” she said.
VHRA called the airline “critical to Vanuatu’s economic health” and called on the government to “urgently address the immediate crisis and find a lasting solution”.
“They could sell parts of the airline, they could merge, they could split the airline,” McAllister suggested. In the meantime, it was important to remember that “it is Air Vanuatu, not the tourism industry, that is at stake.”
