Air Niugini

The agreement was signed during an official ceremony held in Port Moresby on Tuesday.

CEO of the TPA Eric Mossman Uvovo highlighted the importance of this partnership, describing it as a “necessary tool” to position PNG as a top tourist destination. 

This year marks the festival's 50th Anniversary, and Air Niugini's total sponsorship valued at K75,000.00 stands as a testament to its unwavering support.

In a media statement released, Air Niugini has made the following changes to the Port Moresby to Cairns and Cairns to Port Moresby flights:

• The flight PX098 on Tuesday, 12th December, has been cancelled.

• The flight PX098 on Wednesday, 13th December will now depart at 04:45 am on Thursday, 14th December, arriving in Cairns at 06:10 am.

• The flight PX091 on Wednesday, 13th December, has been cancelled.

Jet operations to Mount Hagen were suspended in late September to allow the National Airports Corporation (NAC) to carry out urgent maintenance works on the airport runway.

During the period of the runway repairs, all Air Niugini flights to Hagen were downgraded to Dash 8 operations.

Acting Chief Executive Officer, Gary Seddon said: “Mount Hagen is the major airport serving the Highlands region and is of vital importance to the economy and community.

A Stop Press notice was issued by Niusky Pacific on Tuesday, closing the airport to all operations until further notice.

Air Niugini is monitoring the situation carefully and will issue further updates as the situation develops and more information becomes available.

“We regret the inconvenience caused, however, the situation is beyond the airline’s control. Passengers holding tickets for flights to or from Hoskins may rebook their travel for later dates, with penalties waived.”

Acting Chief Executive Officer, Gary Seddon confirmed with this newsroom this morning.

“We are just getting it registered for PNG.”

Mr Seddon further clarified that the cancellation of the purchase of Dash 8-Q400 last month was due to the substandard quality of the aircraft.

“I did cancel the Q400 because we weren’t getting what we needed. I have a new order in place.

“But I don’t want to waste our money on planes that will just sit there broken,” he told this newsroom.

This year the airline has had to modify its operations to accommodate failing runways in Mt Hagen and Rabaul. The runway in Mt. Hagen is being repaired for the second time this year.

This means that Air Niugini is unable to operate a conventional jet service to the city – which represents one of the busiest sectors in PNG.

The aircraft were expected to arrive in September this year but didn’t eventuate as a result.

This has created disruption to travel plans being experienced by loyal and patient customers – both passenger and cargo, domestic and international.

Air Niugini management in a statement said they will not make excuses for the terrible service levels being experienced but will provide some clarity to ensure that there can be no confusion over the issues being faced by the national carrier.

Acting chief executive officer of PNG’s national airline, Gary Seddon, outlined this in his presentation at the inaugural PNG-Asia Investment Conference in Hong Kong.

“In the region, for example, we are limited by runways,” he told attendees in session six of the final day of conference at the Kowloon Shangri-La Hotel.

“As the citizens of our country demand greater access to air travel, we have an increased demand for larger and more heavy aircraft. And this puts an increased strain on runways.

This is following vandalism at Tokua airport yesterday where the terminal sustained significant damage.

PNG Air in a statement cited safety concerns as the primary reason for this indefinite suspension.

It confirmed that flights will remain suspended until PNG Air can ensure safe operations in the province.

“The decision was made in the interest of passenger safety and to address the challenging circumstances on the ground,” it stated.