Papua New Guinea’s national carrier Air Niugini says a fleet shortage is causing a backlog of domestic passengers almost daily, and it has requested another three Airbus A220-100s.

Chief executive Alan Milne told local newspaper The National that the airline had put in a official request for the three aircraft to join the fleet next year.

He says the next three A220-100s, due in August, September and December 2027, will be primarily for domestic operations.

Air Niugini currently has three A220s operating on international routes, which are also used on some domestic sectors, Milne says.

He says the aircraft should help with the backlog and offer a better product, with better seating and Wi-Fi, while being far more economical to operate.

Milne says the airline looks after stranded passengers beyond what it is required to under the international convention.

PNG transport secretary Mathew Wowoni says the country is phasing out the Fokker 70 and Fokker 100 and bringing in the A220, which also requires airport upgrades. Lower-handling aircraft, he says, cannot use some runways, and extensions fall under the Civil Aviation Development Investment Programme (CADIP).

ANALYSIS AND BACKGROUND
It has been reported in the local media that Air Niugini has faced severe passenger backlogs, cancellations and offloading for years, which it attributes to fleet shortages, grounded aircraft needing maintenance and regional fuel supply problems. Intermittent fuel supply and foreign currency pressures added to the strain, and the airline moved to close or restrict bookings on some routes while clearing backlogs.

The A220 is also central to the carrier’s international plans. Air Niugini says it will restart Port Moresby to Auckland flights on 17 November, three times weekly, initially with Boeing 737-800s before moving to its newest type, the A220-300. It received its international airline licence for the route on 9 November, ending a 26-year absence from New Zealand.

Picture shows: Air Niugini Airbus A220-300 P2-PGA
Credit: VolgaDnper1488 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0