Good for the nation, aviation minister says

Robert Iroga

The Solomon Islands Government is now adopting an “open sky' policy to attract more airlines and competition, Aviation Minister Simeon Bouro has revealed.

The latest government shift in aviation policy is sure to upset the management of the Solomon Airlines. Two years ago when the Solomon Islands Visitors Bureau called for an “open air policy” to lure more visitors to the islands, the state-owned Solomon Airlines was disappointed.

Bouro, who accompanied a new flight created to serve Brisbane, Honiara and Pohnpei, publicly expressed his desire to adopt an open sky policy.

“We are in the age that we have to head that way-an open sky policy-so that there is competition. Where there is competition, there is better service for our people,” the minister said.

Bouro said the country had yet to fully utilise its skies to get maximum benefit. He was hoping that before long there would be links between Japan, Taiwan, and Guam through the Solomons, and then to New Zealand and Australia.

“If we can tap that traffic, then it will be good for our economy.”
Bouro said the government was looking at current operators and whether the new ones could complement that.

“We need a lot of operators and we need to see whether they can complement the current structure we have,” he said.

Oceania Air is the latest airline to fly through the Solomons, making daily flights to Australia. Solomon Islands recently approved Oceania Air to transit through Honiara on its flight to the Federated States of Micronesia.

Bouro believes Oceania Air service would give Solomon Islanders an opportunity to export goods to the Federated States of Micronesia, especially its agricultural products.

Leasing an Air Vanuatu Boeing 737, Solomon Airlines is flying to Australia, Fiji, and Vanuatu. It recently dropped its service to Auckland.

Air Pacific, Air Niugini and Air Nauru also operate flights to Honiara.