SOLOMON Airlines has confirmed the airline’s twice-weekly flights between Brisbane and Honiara will be maintained as the national carrier awaits further easing of travel restrictions to plan a broader international schedule.
Solomon Airlines Flight IE701 will continue to operate every Wednesday until 29 July 2022, departing Brisbane at 12:30pm, and arriving in Honiara at 4:45pm. Flight IE700 will then depart Honiara 6:45pm, arriving back in Brisbane at 9:00pm.
Friday services on the Brisbane route will continue for the foreseeable future, providing certainty for those planning forward travel bookings.
Solomon Airlines has also resumed their Fiji Airways operated codeshare service between Honiara and Nadi on Saturdays from 2 July 2022.
Solomon Airlines CEO Brett Gebers said the national carrier was ‘edging back towards normal flying’ adjusting as swiftly as possible to changed travel restrictions.
“We anticipate being in a position to expand our network further including adding our own weekly service to Fiji as soon as the next travel advisory is released, which is expected to reduce quarantine to 3 days,” Mr. Gebers said.
“We are also hopeful that pre-departure processes will be streamlined so that we can avoid travel disruptions in the period immediately prior to departure and at boarding, and proceed to re-engage our global airline partners and distribution channels,” he said.
Mr. Gebers said while the recent Travel Advisory reducing quarantine to 6 days was a welcome development, the very manual and time-consuming approval processes which must be followed to approve passengers for travel, are still a deterrent to travellers, and challenging for the airline.
“Currently passengers still must have the approval of the COVID-19 Oversight Committee to travel in June, as well as proof of COVID-19 vaccination and a pre-departure form lodged 5 days prior to departure.
“This means there is still potential for travel disruptions for booked passengers who are not pre-approved by the Solomon Islands Government through June, or who fail to meet all the requirements which include a PCR test within 72 hours and a RAT within 12 hours prior to departure,” he said.
“Nevertheless we are doing all that we can to support our customers.
“With the easing of travel restrictions, our Point Cruz Sales Office will also re-open on Saturdays from this week, 9:00am to 1:00pm to better support our customers in Honiara,” Mr. Gebers said.
Solomon Airlines bookings for flights from Brisbane to Honiara can only be made through the airline’s Sales Offices.
SOURCE: SOLOMON AIRLINES
