[ad_1]
“Wellmany complain, it is not good. Do not book Air Vanuatu.” Those were the words of a taxi driver in March as he left Vanuatu’s Bauerfield International Airport and headed for the heart of Port Vila, the coastal capital of the Pacific island nation.
Two months later and the frequent cancellations and delays that have become synonymous with the national carrier over the past year have given way to the government’s announcement that Air Vanuatu is in voluntary liquidation. In a country where 48% of the gross domestic product is generated by tourismbusiness owners fear tourism will bear the brunt of the airline shutdown.
“The Livelihood of Thousands ni-Vanuatu and their dependents employed in hotels and resorts in Vanuatu are now at risk,” the Vanuatu Hotels and Resorts Association (VHRA) said in a statement. “Immense damage has been done to Vanuatu’s reputation in overseas tourism markets. Potential tourists go elsewhere and wholesalers sell to other, less problematic destinations.”
Before the pandemic, the 83-island country welcomed around 90,000 tourists each year, drawn by its volcanic landscapes, brochure-worthy beaches and abundant marine life. Most come from Australia and New Zealandand while Virgin Australia also flies to and from the archipelago, Air Vanuatu carries the majority of air travelers in the country.
Joel Slattery, owner of Moso Hotel, located on the island of the same name, said Vanuatu was in the midst of a post-pandemic tourism boom, but the continued turbulent operations of Air Vanuatu had led to people “crossing it off their bucket list as a destination”. Speaking from the veranda of the resort’s main house overlooking the ocean, Slattery said that in the past few months, several guests have been forced to abandon their remote island experience.
In April 2023, the airline’s only aircraft, a Boeing 737, was based in Brisbane. In September 2023 more than 25 fields were canceled over the weekend due to another “ongoing engineering requirement”; and in January of this year he was again forced to stay on the asphalt for scheduled maintenance. The required parts have not yet arrived.
Boeing warned last year of supply chain problems with parts that are harder to come by across the aviation industry after the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
News of the liquidation has already affected hotel bookings as well as employees, said Stella Nomalo, office manager of Hideaway Island Resort and Marine Sanctuary, located on Efate Island. “We have [had] to reduce giving a lot of work to the staff.” Tourism accounts for 35% of employment in the tropical archipelago.
Other factors, such as the cost of living and a weak tourist season, may also have played a role, said Rob McAllister, president of the Vanuatu Tour Operators Association and managing director of Vanuatu Ecotours.
“Despite pressure on the wider industry”, the appointed liquidators – accountancy firm Ernst & Young Australia – said they believed “the outlook for Air Vanuatu is positive” and said services would resume following safety and maintenance checks. Meanwhile flight are cancelledruining vacation plans.
“There will be some short-term pain – the industry will have a few quiet weeks,” McAllister said. “But in the long term, we will emerge a stronger destination as we have to deal with these issues around our national airline.” This is the beginning of that process.”
If Air Vanuatu reappears, it will get a “reputation of being unreliable”, newlywed Rebecca Allen said. In May 2023, five months pregnant with a one-year-old child, she and her husband Richard spent five hours at the one-terminal airport waiting to return to Sydney for a second wedding celebration. Their initial wedding took place against the backdrop of a beach in Vanuatu. The plane wasn’t going to take them home that day, or the day after that.
They missed the celebration and a year later still haven’t been compensated for the three extra days – worth about A$1,000 – they had to spend in Port Vila.
“[I’m] very upset as I won’t get my money back now,” Allen said, adding that it will be some time before she wants to visit Vanuatu again. “Hopefully another airline can step in.”
Calling the airline “critical to Vanuatu’s economic well-being”, the VHRA urged the government to urgently address the “immediate crisis and find a lasting solution”.
“They could sell part of the airline … they could merge, they could split the airline,” McAllister suggested. Meanwhile, it was important to remember that “Air Vanuatu is in crisis, not the tourism industry”.
[ad_2]
