A tender process for operating the government-owned MA60 aircraft was expected today, while the controversial aircraft gifted from China to the Government of Tonga remains grounded without an operator.

He said it was an internal matter for the Tongan government to decide. The only condition is for the company to have the qualification and should guarantee the safety of passengers, he said.

“Now the aircraft is in the hands of the government and the maintenance is done by the government.”

Mr Xu said on that on 29 July they had received a letter from government confirming that the Type Acceptance Certificate and Airworthiness Certificate for the MA60 were both legal and valid according to the Tongan laws, after almost half a year’s inspection and review.

He said the new government had grounded the aircraft on the basis of lack of special knowledge in February this year. The current situation is that the aircraft is waiting for government to look for a qualified company to operate it, he said.

"The longer the aircraft is on the ground the more government looses so we hope it can soon fly to serve Tongans travelling to the outer islands, as we considered at the beginning when gifting it to the Tongan government."

Termination

Earlier Samiu was also involved in restablishing another airline Royal Tongan Airlines. However, he along with Vili Cocker and a number of qualified pilots had left to form a new airline, the Tonga Airways. 

Samiu said that they are bidding to operate the MA60. "We have the expertise and the pilots, and we will be in the air as soon as we are given the opportunity."

In February this year, the government took back the MA60 from Real Tonga, the sole domestic carrier after terminating its lease agreement.