By Mary Lyn Fonua
Tonga's Minister of Tourism, Hon. Mo'ale Finau is stranded in Ha'apai along with at least 69 visitors who currently have no way out, after Tonga's Civil Aviation Division (CAD) suspended the Lulutai Airlines Ltd. domestic operations of two small aircraft, citing safety reasons, on Friday, 18 July.
Hon. Finau told Matangi Tonga that he does not yet know how many incoming and outgoing international visitors are affected nationwide, but confirmed 69 guests from various tourism properties were trying to find a way to leave Ha'apai, and there was no word on when they would be able to get transport in, to take the visitors out.
He said he was trying to contact his office to find out more, and there was no official statement yet. “I will talk to the boss tomorrrow.”
Meanwhile, “Ha’apai is the best place in Tonga - it is so peaceful,” he said this afternoon.
He heard from government that the Lulutai’s two aircraft, “the Y12 and another one”, were grounded by the Civil Aviation department because of a licensing issue, regarding safety regulations.
“There are not enough engineers in Tonga to take care of the planes.” he said, and agreed, “Yes, this is a human error.”
He believed that the “big plane” (an Air Chathams Saab 340 aircraft, 27 seater) was still operating on the Tongatapu-Vava’u domestic service, and was not affected by the grounding because it was maintained and serviced overseas, “but the big plane cannot land in Ha’apai,” he said.
Meanwhile, tourism operators in Ha’apai who have been given no date for when flights might resume, are now looking for a short-notice ferry to charter.
Darren Rice, a tourism operator at the Matafonua Island Lodge, said today that they had counted 69 visitors from all tourist accommodations. Many passengers were booked to fly out of Ha’apai on Saturday and by today some had rescheduled their international flights more than once. He said that a ferry that was chartered to come and take them out today, had broken down in Nuku’alofa.
“It’s an absolute disaster,” he said.
New incoming visitors have been arriving at the international airport in Tongatapu, only to find they cannot get to their booked accommodation in Ha'apai this week.
