BY JOSES SAREN & IRWIN ANGIKI
Domestic air travel continues to be disrupted as Solomon Airlines services the country with only one Twin Otter plane.
Solomon Airlines says with the old age of its planes it is adjusting according to maintenance and seasonal demands.
The domestic fleet used to comprise of three twin otters and a dash-8. However, in April this year, the dash-8 went for what was supposedly a six-week routine C-Check in Australia which uncovered an array of problem requiring immediate fix.
But this came with a huge, unforeseen cost worth millions, which the national carrier is paying slowly before the repair works can begin. The dash-8 is still in Australia awaiting repairs.
Of the three twin otters, the lease of one expired in April this year and was returned to its owner.
Since then, the remaining two twin otter planes have struggled to serve the country’s domestic routes.
Most times only one twin otter would be working, while the other is down undergoing maintenance.
This has led to the airlines having to cancel or postpone flights, shift flight times within a day, and other measures to adjust. A growing list of frustrated passengers have resulted from this.
Island Sun has received complaints from a number of passengers decrying having missed their flight due to change in flight times in which they were not notified. Others say they have been waiting for a week since their flights continue to be postponed.
It is understood that a government team is stranded in Temotu province, affected by this Solomon Airlines problem. Several other government officials are also behind their work schedules with their flights to the provinces continuing to be postponed.
With only a single plane covering more than 15 operational airports, the strain on provincial connectivity is severe — particularly for communities where air transport is the only fast link to Honiara.
Responding to questions from Island Sun this week, Solomon Airlines CEO Matt Findlay said scheduling across its domestic fleet is “managed dynamically” and confirmed adjustments are underway to accommodate maintenance needs.
“Solomon Airlines domestic fleet composition and scheduling of aircraft on our provincial network are managed dynamically according to maintenance cycles and ‘on the day requirements’, lease arrangements, and seasonal demand.
“We can confirm that scheduling adjustments are being made to our domestic operations, to accommodate scheduled and unscheduled maintenance and we are working to ensure minimal disruption to provincial communities who rely on these services,” Mr Findlay said.
Findlay confirmed the airline’s Twin Otter aircraft registered NNP has been out of service for an extended period for major repairs, while its Dash 8 aircraft is currently undergoing scheduled heavy maintenance in Australia.
He said further work was identified once the Dash 8 was opened for inspection than had originally been anticipated.
“As is not unusual with aircraft of this type and age, further work was identified once the Dash 8 aircraft was opened up for inspection. We are managing this process closely with our maintenance provider and will shortly have a clearer picture of timeframes.
“Safety is of paramount importance and our domestic flight operations are an extremely high priority, to support the movement of people and cargo throughout the Solomon Islands. We take our responsibility very seriously to address any maintenance issue that requires attention as swiftly as can be managed,” Findlay said.
Solomon Airlines said it will shortly issue a public statement on domestic capacity to communicate directly with provincial communities and stakeholders on short-term schedule changes.
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