Tanna Flight Services Suspended until Airports Vanuatu Fixes Key Equipment

The National Airline, Air Vanuatu, has confirmed that it has been advised by Airports Vanuatu, the government body that manages the airport infrastructure, that their fire truck in Tanna is currently
out of operations. Airports Vanuatu has confirmed they are sending a technician to Tanna today to attempt to repair their fire truck.

Air Vanuatu most regularly uses its’ larger aircraft, the ATR to fly to and from Tanna. The safety regulations that Air Vanuatu follows, require the Tanna airport’s fire truck to be operational in order to land the ATR to safety standards. So until it is repaired, following these safety standards, Air Vanuatu cannot land the ATR in Tanna.

However other smaller aircraft may still be cleared to land under these conditions. At this stage Air Vanuatu’s smaller aircraft would be allowed to fly to Tanna, however these smaller aircraft are busy servicing the northern region and cannot be diverted to service Tanna.

Unfortunately with limited number of aircraft, until the Airport in Tanna confirms their fire truck is repaired, Air Vanuatu has no option other than to temporarily suspend their flight schedule to Tanna effective immediately.

Guests who had planned to travel to or from Tanna this week are requested to check with Air Vanuatu on Tel: 20200 for updates later this week. Industry advisories will also be sent via emails.