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Australian, New Zealand airlines suspend services to Vanuatu

Xinhua, January 25, 2016 Adjust font size:

Qantas Airways and Air New Zealand have suspended flights to the pacific island Vanuatu over ongoing runway safety concerns as the country looks to tourism to aid recovery follow last year's cyclone.

Air New Zealand on Monday suspended services to the Pacific island's capital Port Villa, while Australian flag carrier Qantas has also cancelled its code sharing arrangement with local carrier Air Vanuatu over concerns about the runway's condition.

Qantas' local rival Virgin Australia on Monday said it was also considering whether to halt its flights after sending in investigators to examine the runway.

Air New Zealand, which operates a weekly service from Auckland to Port Vila, flew its last flight on Sunday to repatriate travellers while also deploying extra technical experts to oversee landing and take-offs, spokeswoman Janna Wilkinson said in a statement.

"Weather and jet engine activity are resulting in loose material on the runway," Wilkinson said.

"This presents a risk to aircraft operations."

The suspensions are likely to be a blow to Vanuatu's fledgling tourism industry, representing more than a third of the pacific island's GDP, which is slowly recovering following Cyclone Pam last year. Australian and New Zealand account for the bulk of the pacific island's tourists.

Vanuatu Hotels and Resorts Association chairman Bryan Death told local media on Monday delays in the maintenance and upgrade of the airport had been politically poisonous for years despite fears the airfield could be shut down by the International Civil Aviation Organization.

Death said the World Bank had offered to spend 85 million Australian dollars (59.71 million U.S. dollars) on maintenance and upgrades in May last year, however political interference had hampered those plans.

"That would have seen the works done and completed probably before Christmas last year," Death said.

"It's been pure procrastination, and sadly it is about self-interest rather than the national interest of Vanuatu that has prevented this contract from being vetted."

A snap election on Friday is also likely to complicate efforts to secure funding for the urgent repairs.

Air Vanuatu, which is operating flights as usual, said the nation's civil aviation department had put in place several safety measures after an emergency meeting at the weekend.

"The safety measures imposed by Air Vanuatu require daily 'sweeping' of the runway plus regular inspections prior to and after take-off, new obstacle and runway surveys, and 200 meters of runway to be marked for urgent repair," Air Vanuatu said in a statement on its website. Endit