Air Niugini CEO, Gary Seddon, has announced that comprehensive technical studies undertaken by the aircraft manufacturer, Airbus, have confirmed that all 15 airports currently served by the Fokker fleet can accommodate the incoming A220 aircraft.
The Airbus A220 Pavement Compatibility Study of Papua New Guinea Airports has declared that the Airbus A220 is capable of operating across all current Air Niugini domestic jet routes.
“Airbus and Air Niugini have thoroughly evaluated the performance of both the A220-100 and A220-300 models and confirmed these aircraft can serve every airport where our Fokker 70s and 100s operate,” Mr Seddon said.
“This is very good information for our travelling public who will have more comfortable flights that are on-time and more efficient.
“Our new A220s can land at existing PNG domestic airports according to safe International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) compliance conditions.
“The relevant data has been conveyed to the National Airports Corporation (NAC), and our other stakeholders, who are all working together to ensure that the transition to our new Air Niugini fleet is a success.
“The replacement of our Fokker fleet with Airbus A220s will be a massive change for Air Niugini. The first of these aircraft arrives in September this year.
“As the Fokker aircraft have aged, maintenance costs have escalated, and replacement parts often require time to order, causing flight delays and disruptions.
“Due to infrastructure limitations at certain domestic airports in PNG, it will be necessary to apply specific flight restrictions to some A220 operations. In instances where payload or fuel limits are required, flight operations will be adjusted accordingly to maintain full compliance with safety and performance standards. These restrictions are expected to affect only a small number of routes operating into shorter or lower-strength runways.
“Ultimately, the A220’s superior efficiency and performance means that even at a reduced weight it can carry out flights that meet or exceed what the Fokkers could achieve from those airports.
“This is an exciting time for aviation in Papua New Guinea, which has been a long time in coming following talk of replacing the Fokkers for nearly two decades, and now we are making it happen.
“Passenger and freight costs will reduce, and importantly, we will get flight schedules running on time because we have new and reliable aircraft.”
The domestic airports into which the A220 can operate are as follows:
· POM / AYPY-Port Moresby
· LAE / AYNZ-Lae Nadzab Tomodachi
· KVG / AYKV-Kavieng
· MAS / AYMO-Manus (Momote)
· GUR / AYGN-Alotau (Gurney)
· HGU / AYMH-Mt Hagen (Kagamuga)
· RAB / AYTK-Rabaul (Tokua)
· VAI / AYVN-Vanimo
· BUA / AYBK-Buka
· GKA / AYGA-Goroka
· HKN / AYHK -Kimbe (Hoskins)
· WWK / AYWK-Wewak
· MAG / AYMD-Madang
· KIE / AYIQ -Kieta
All international destinations currently serviced by Air Niugini Fokker and Boeing aircraft will accommodate the Airbus A220.
