Solomon Airlines to reintroduce flights to Australia, Fiji, Vanuatu, Kiribati

– Same day connections to and from Solomon Islands from New Zealand, Asia, USA

Solomon Airlines has welcomed the news that mandatory quarantine requirements for inbound visitors will be reduced shortly, with a new international schedule effective from 1 August, re-introducing regular flights between Solomon Islands and Australia, Fiji, Vanuatu and Kiribati, and connections to partner airline services from New Zealand, Asia and the USA.

“Reopening our borders is a major milestone that means Solomon Airlines can again open up our flights and network to the world,” said Solomon Airlines CEO Brett Gebers.

“That means gradual recovery of inbound tourism, more opportunities for international air freight, and that our optimism about the future of air travel in our region has proved well-founded,” said Solomon Airlines CEO Brett Gebers.

“On behalf of the Solomon Airlines team we thank the Solomon Islands Government, the Australia and New Zealand Governments, and our business and industry partners for standing by us, and helping us to keep our nation flying through our most difficult era ever.”

“The past two years and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic have been an incredibly long and testing journey, and we say tagio tumas to everyone who has supported us, for your patience and perseverance, especially our hardworking staff who made sacrifices to ensure the survival of Solomon Airlines,” he said.

“Our immediate priority now is to re-establish our core Pacific Islands network and ensure convenient connections from global markets especially NZ, Asia, the United States, and Europe via Brisbane and Fiji,” Mr. Gebers said.

“We also look forward to continuing our work with our travel industry partners as well as Tourism Solomons to ensure Solomon Islands is indelibly placed on the world map as an attractive and accessible international destination,” he said.

Until the complete lifting of mandatory quarantine, international visitors to Solomon Islands must continue to follow the updated health protocols while accommodated at one of the approved ‘Tourism Bubble’ operators.

Currently those operators include:

Honiara – Heritage Park Hotel, Mendana Hotel, Coral Sea Resort & Casino, King Solomon Hotel, Pacific Casino Hotel, Honiara Hotel Marau – Tavanipupu Spa & Wellness Retreat Suavanao – Papatura Island Retreat Munda – Zipolo Habu Resort, Castaway Lagoon Resort Gizo – Fatboys Resort, Sanbis Resort, Imagination Island Liveaboard Cruises – Bilikiki Cruises, MV Taka Details of the latest Solomon Islands Travel restrictions are available at this link: https://www.flysolomons.com/plan/australia-solomon-islands-travel-advice Solomon Airlines’ new international schedule effective from 1 August 2022 will include flight times that enable same-day connections at least twice weekly to and from all major international markets. The airline has also adjusted timings on selected domestic flights to Munda, Gizo, Seghe, and Suavanao to allow for direct connections from international services on the Brisbane-Honiara route. Highlights of the new schedule from 1 August include:

• Brisbane-Honiara flights twice weekly and a third Brisbane-Honiara flight every fortnight
• Honiara-Brisbane flights twice weekly
• Honiara-Port Vila-Nadi-Honiara flights every Tuesday
• Brisbane-Tarawa flights via Honiara to operate fortnightly
• Tarawa-Brisbane direct flights to operate fortnightly
• Direct connection on Wednesdays from Munda onto the Honiara-Brisbane service
• Lomlom gains a second weekly service to and from Honiara via Santa Cruz on Tuesdays and Thursdays
• Honiara-Auki-Honiara services will operate twice daily on Monday in the morning and afternoon Solomon Airlines said COVID-19 safety protocols including a requirement for passengers to wear face masks onboard all Solomon Airlines flights will continue to support the protection of passengers and staff.