The Chinese-made MA60 aircraft that was scheduled to resume its domestic air service early this month, remains grounded indefinitely, Tevita Palu the CEO for the Real Tonga Domestic Airline told Matangi Tonga yesterday, 31 August.

Tevita said that the hold-up in reintroducing the MA60 to Tonga's domestic air service is due to a failure of the owner of the aircraft, the Tonga Government to complete aircraft certification documentation.

The Real Tonga Airlines has incurred around $400,000 during the past six weeks from paying the Chinese insurer for the aircraft to the training, bringing and hiring of the aircrew.

He said that In addition, he had to send back four air crew, two pilots from China and Australia, and two flight attendants he hired to operate the aircraft.

Tevita said that he informed government on Wednesday, 30 August that the situation now is that he does not have the money to re-engage the aircrew and the MA60.

"The airline’s other aircrafts and services, we can sustain, but not the MA60," he said.

"I want the aircraft to operate but I need the complete documentation. I will meet with government today (31 August) to see whether they can assist in financing the operation of the aircraft," he said.

Contract

Real Tonga had signed a four-year contract with the Tongan government to operate the 56-seater MA60 aircraft, and the Civil Aviation Division of the Ministry of Infrastructure had also issued an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) for the MA60.

The USD$15 million MA60 aircraft was a gift from the People’s Republic of China to Tonga in July 2013.