Latest news with #Haapai
RNZ News
6 days ago
- RNZ News
Tonga residents fear further Lulutai Airlines suspensions
Lulutai Airlines de-Havilland Twin-Otter. Photo: Tonga High Commission Canberra Uncertainty is still in the air despite Tonga's Lulutai Airlines being able to take to the skies once more. The domestic airline resumed operations on Wednesday after Tonga's Civil Aviation Office suspended its maintenance certificate on 19 July, due to confirmed breaches of civil aviation rules. The Civil Aviation Office, in its statement on Wednesday, said the decision to lift the suspension was provisional and would be closely monitored by the Civil Aviation Office. "Further non-compliance by Lulutai may lead to the suspension being reinstated without further notice," it said. "A final decision on full revocation or reinstatement of the suspension will be communicated in due course." While the domestic Tongan airline was under the suspension no flights were available in or out of a number of small Tongan islands including Ha'apai. Clint Cantrell, who owns the Sea Change Eco Retreat in Ha'apai, said the potential of a full revocation or reinstatement of the suspension did leave people with some uncertainty. Cantrell said he and his wife Maria were used to uncertainty in hospitality, having faced other challenges from the eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai undersea volcano in 2022 to years of Covid. "We've sort of learned to ride the roller coaster," he said. "But we completely understand that our guests or people that are considering holidays would potentially be a little bit nervous about whether or not Civil Aviation would just come back and reissue a ban." He said more certainty about what was going to happen would make life a little easier. Cantrell said following the airline's suspension, Maria had spent hours responding to emails from guests that were booked for the rest of the season, who were worried about what was going on with the airline and a couple of guests had cancelled their stay. Prior to the suspension being lifted there had been a lot of uncertainty around when flights would resume, Cantrell said. He said the day before it was announced that the suspension was lifted one of the local people managed to arrange for a cargo ferry to do a special run to Ha'api. "All 15 of our guests agreed that they wanted to get on the ferry because at that point we had no idea when flights were going to resume again," he said. "We didn't know if it was going to be a day, a week, a month, or perhaps not even operating for the rest of the season because there was just no information." Cantrell said the seven-to-eight hour trip was a "tough journey" for them. "The ferry didn't have any food or water or even seats for people to sit on." He said he had gotten word on Wednesday that the guests had all got on an Air New Zealand flight home. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
23-07-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Pacific news in brief for 23 July
Lulutai Airlines is Tonga's only domestic airline. Photo: Tonga High Commission Canberra Tonga's Civil Aviation Office has temporarily lifted its suspension of Lulutai Airlines engineering licence. The Office took action against Tonga's only domestic airline on Friday, due to breaches of Civil Aviation rules. It said it is now satisfied all non-compliances identified have been resolved. It also warned any further breaches could trigger the reinstatement of the suspension, and it will be closely monitoring. Last week's grounding of Lulutai Airlines two aircraft left dozens of travellers stranded on Ha'apai over the weekend. The director general of the justice ministry says the minister is awaiting legal advice before deciding on next steps for a Commission of Inquiry report into Vanuatu citizenship and related matters. The Vanuatu Daily Post reports the inquiry was launched to investigate alleged irregularities in the country's citizenship programme which has faced scrutiny domestically and internationally in recent years. Arthur Faerua confirmed the report has been completed and was officially handed over to the minister in May. He said legally justice minister Job Andy has full authority to decide on next steps but he is seeking advice from the State Law Office on which parts of the report can be made public. The leader of the opposition Alatoi Ishmael Kalsakau recently called on prime minister Jotham Napat to release the report directly to the public and not to the Council of Ministers. Kalsakau argues the public deserves full access to the report, particularly if it involves national leaders. Bougainville's government has given a one million kina cheque to Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) to help re-establish air services in the region. The ABG chief secretary Kearnneth Nanei said the cheque symbolises the government's appreciation of MAF, and their ongoing partnership. He said the government is committed to opening up Bougainville's airspace. Nanei said it is part of the promise of open skies in Bougainville within 10 years, and the re-activation of airstrips in Nissan, Buin, Torokina, Oria, and in mountainous communities. A Commonwealth delegation will be in Tonga this week for a number of workshops. Dr Elizabeth Macharia, acting head of the Commonwealth's Rule of Law Section, will host dialogue on the Latimer House Principles, for members of the executive, legislature, and judiciary. Adopted by Commonwealth countries in 2003, the Latimer House Principles are a set of guidelines to make sure that democracy functions effectively by keeping the executive, legislature, and judiciary independent, accountable and respectful of each other's roles. The workshops this week are at the request of the Tongan government. Palau's President is asking the national congress to approve US$237,000 to open an Embassy in Canberra, Australia. The Island Times reports Surangel Whipps Jr says establishing a diplomatic mission in Canberra could strengthen bilateral ties and ensure Australia's continued engagement. He told the news outlet that, whether Palau likes it or not by December 2026, it will no longer be eligible for financial assistance from the EU. Whipps said traditional allies like Japan, the United States and Taiwan are expected to continue supporting Palau while Australia remains undecided. The funding request is included in the proposed national budget for fiscal year 2026. Tourism in Fiji has slowed down slightly, with lower annual visitor numbers and earnings in the summer months. The Fiji Bureau of Statistics has recorded a 0.3 percent decrease in tourism revenue between the March 2024 and 2025 quarters. This corresponds with a 4 percent decrease in visitor numbers, or around 10,000 fewer visitors, over the same period. The Bureau puts this down to fewer visitors from neighbouring Pacific nations and territories. Pacific Trade Ministers have reaffirmed their commitment to a rules-based multilateral trading system. The comments were made during the Forum's Trade Ministers meeting last week. Ministers agreed given the Pacific's geographic challenges, countries need to work together through regional initiatives. The initiatives include the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, the Pacific Roadmap for Economic Development and the Pacific Aid for Trade Strategy.
RNZ News
22-07-2025
- RNZ News
Tonga Civil Aviation suspends Lulutai Airlines maintenance certificate; flights cancelled
The suspension will remain in effect until all identified instances of non-compliance had been rectified to the satisfaction of the Civil Aviation Office. Photo: Airline Ltd Dozens of travellers have been affected by domestic flight cancellations in Tonga after the aviation authority suspended the local airline's maintenance certificate. In a statement, Tonga's Civil Aviation Office said Lulutai Airlines Ltd's Part 145 Maintenance Certificate has been suspended effective 19 July 2025. It said this was due to confirmed breaches of civil aviation rules and that no maintenance operations may be conducted under this certificate. The office said the suspension will remain in effect until all identified instances of non-compliance had been rectified to the satisfaction of the Civil Aviation Office. It advised all affected parties to contact Lulutai Airlines Ltd directly for operational enquiries. The government owned airline is the Kingdom's only domestic carrier. On Monday, Matangi Tonga reported two of the airline's aircraft were grounded on Friday as a result of the suspension stranding Tourism Minister Mo'ale Finau and dozens of tourists on Ha'apai. "There are not enough engineers in Tonga to take care of the planes." he said, and agreed, "Yes, this is a human error." The minister said he understood Lulutai Airline's "big plane", an Air Chathams Saab 340 , was still operating on the Tongatapu-Vava'u domestic service, but said it "cannot land in Ha'apai". Darren Rice, a tourism operator at the Matafonua Island Lodge, said many visitors were booked to fly out of Ha'apai on Saturday and as of Monday had to reschedule their international flights more than once. Rice said "it's an absolute disaster" with a ferry chartered to go and pick them up on Monday breaking down in Nuku'alofa. Incoming visitors have also been affected arriving in Tongatapu only to find they cannot get to their booked accommodation in Ha'apai. Lulutai has been in the media spotlight for multiple aviation compliance and safety issues since it began operations in 2020. The Civil Aviation Office said it was committed to enforcing strict compliance with safety standards to ensure the protection of the travelling public. It said further updates would be issued as required.
RNZ News
22-07-2025
- RNZ News
Tonga Civil Avaiation suspends Lulutai Airlines maintenance certificate; flights cancelled
The suspension will remain in effect until all identified instances of non-compliance had been rectified to the satisfaction of the Civil Aviation Office. Photo: Airline Ltd Dozens of travellers have been affected by domestic flight cancellations in Tonga after the aviation authority suspended the local airline's maintenance certificate. In a statement, Tonga's Civil Aviation Office said Lulutai Airlines Ltd's Part 145 Maintenance Certificate has been suspended effective 19 July 2025. It said this was due to confirmed breaches of civil aviation rules and that no maintenance operations may be conducted under this certificate. The office said the suspension will remain in effect until all identified instances of non-compliance had been rectified to the satisfaction of the Civil Aviation Office. It advised all affected parties to contact Lulutai Airlines Ltd directly for operational enquiries. The government owned airline is the Kingdom's only domestic carrier. On Monday, Matangi Tonga reported the two of the airline's aircraft were grounded on Friday as a result of the suspension stranding Tourism Minister Mo'ale Finau and dozens of tourists on Ha'apai. "There are not enough engineers in Tonga to take care of the planes." he said, and agreed, "Yes, this is a human error." The minister told said he understood Lulutai Airline's "big plane", an Air Chathams Saab 340 , was still operating on the Tongatapu-Vava'u domestic service, but said it "cannot land in Ha'apai". Darren Rice, a tourism operator at the Matafonua Island Lodge, said many visitors were booked to fly out of Ha'apai on Saturday and as of Monday had had to reschedule their international flights more than once. Rice said "it's an absolute disaster" with a ferry chartered to go and pick them up on Monday breaking down in Nuku'alofa. Incoming visitors have also been affected arriving in Tongatapu only to find they cannot get to their booked accommodation in Ha'apai. Lulutai has been in the media spotlight for multiple aviation compliance and safety issues since it began operations in 2020. The Civil Aviation Office said it was committed to enforcing strict compliance with safety standards to ensure the protection of the travelling public. It said further updates would be issued as required.
