Air Vanuatu sole Boeing 737 is grounded in Brisbane due to lack of spare parts. The aircraft took its last flight on March 31 from Port Vila Bauerfield International Airport (VLI) to Australia's Brisbane Airport (BNE). Since then, the aircraft is grounded due to a technical issue onboard the aircraft, which resulted in the cancelation of its planned return flight to Port Vila.
Air Vanuatu has released a statement saying that “We regret to inform that all flights on the Australia and New Zealand route are cancelled up to and including Friday, April 7, 2023.”
Airlines all over the world are currently facing the brunt of lack of spares leading of grounding of fleet and loss in revenue. Air Vanuata’s name is the latest on the list of airlines that are impacted by supply chain woes.
"Air Vanuatu has reached out to partner airlines for support in flying the affected passengers this weekend while their aircraft is awaiting parts. However, unfortunately, there are no additional services available at this time," the airline said in a statement.
The airline is working closely with Boeing offices in US and Australia to source the spares urgently. Until then, there will be delays to operations.
A fully flexible change policy is in place, as well as a full refund policy for guests who no longer wish to travel. The airline has advised guests to contact their ticketing agent regarding their booking or to get in touch directly if they booked online or with Air Vanuatu.
Greg Wilson, Chief Commercial Officer, Air Vanuatu, has expressed the airline’s sincere apologies for the disruption to services, particularly at this busy time. He said: “We are deeply sorry for the disruption and we appreciate the frustration this has caused and continues to cause our guests especially around the Easter and school holiday travel period.”
Air Vanuatu's only Boeing 737-800 is responsible for all of its mid-haul flights to Australia and New Zealand. It serves Brisbane, Auckland and Sydney, thus affecting the passengers looking to travel back from Vanuatu.