Air Vanuatu cancels all flights to Australia, New Zealand

Chaos has hit passengers with a major national airline considering going into administration, with flights cancelled.

Air Vanuatu has cancelled its flights to and from Sydney, Brisbane and Auckland through to at least Sunday, with flights after this date under review.

The airline may now enter voluntary administration, a spokesperson told news.com.au, with specialists from Ernst & Young flying to the island nation to help the Vanuatu government with its national carrier.

They will undergo “an assessment of Air Vanuatu’s financials”.

All international flights through to Sunday, May 12 are now cancelled and all future flights after this date are “currently under review”.

Air Vanuatu promised to provide updates until an outcome result had been finalised.

Air Vanuatu has cancelled its flights. Picture: istock

Qantas, which does not operate flights into Vanuatu but has a codeshare partnership with Air Vanuatu, said it was supporting codeshare customers who were impacted.

Qantas customers who are booked on an Air Vanuatu flight between now and May 31 are instructed to call Qantas or their travel agent to discuss options including refunds or a flight credit.

The Australian carrier said it would book customers who are mid-journey onto alternative flights.

Earlier on Thursday concerns began circulating about the fate of the company after it cancelled flights and local newspaper Vanuatu Daily Post reported it was informed the Air Vanuatu board had been dissolved and an administrator was appointed on May 6.

The publication said the news followed a former minister of infrastructure and public utilities reporting last month that Air Vanuatu is facing “a serious situation of bankruptcy”.

The airline’s website listed the cancelled services under its “flight schedule changes” page but blamed maintenance issues.

“Due extended maintenance requirements on our aircraft the following services listed below are impacted,” it claimed. “We are working with our partner carriers to minimise the disruption to our guests.”

📣 PSA: We are aware Air Vanuatu has cancelled its Brisbane flights for today & tomorrow. Passengers scheduled to fly with Air Vanuatu today or tomorrow should not travel to the airport. Please contact Air Vanuatu Customer Support & stay alert for updates. pic.twitter.com/IIGmJMLpUe

— Brisbane Airport ✈️ (@BrisbaneAirport) May 9, 2024

Brisbane Airport said it was aware flights had been cancelled on Thursday and Friday, and has warned passengers scheduled to fly with the airline that they should not travel to the airport.

Sydney Airport issued the same warning for flights on Friday and across the weekend.

“We advise passengers who are booked on these flights to contact Air Vanuatu’s customer assistance team and not to turn up at the airport as the flights are cancelled,” a spokesperson said.

The Vanuatu Tourism Office said in a statement it was aware of reports that its national carrier has entered voluntary administration and called it an “evolving situation”.

“At this stage, we are unable to share further information but are in contact with Air Vanuatu and the Vanuatu government and will share updates as they become available,” a spokesperson said.

“We are conscious of the impact this situation has on travellers, ticket holders and the industry and on behalf of the Vanuatu tourism industry extend our apologies to anyone affected.”

The cancelled services between Sydney, Brisbane, Auckland and the airline’s base in Port Vila are listed on its website.

It comes just days after the collapse of Australian airline Bonza, less than 18 months after launching its first flights.

Almost 60,000 Bonza customers have been left out of pocket following the collapse, a court has heard.

A court heard on Tuesday that the company had more than 60,000 creditors – including 323 employees who were owed wages and annual leave and 120 trade creditors.

There were a further 57,933 customers who had bookings with the company, barrister James Hutton SC, who is acting for the administrators, told the Federal Court on Tuesday morning.