Fiji Airways is upping its flights to Vanuatu while the newly-appointed voluntary liquidators of Air Vanuatu work out how long stranded passengers will have to wait for re-booked flights.
The Fijian airline has beefed up its capacity by offering a larger plane to fly between Nadi and Port Vila on various flights this month, and it's exploring ways to help non-Fiji citizens with Air Vanuatu tickets.
"Tourists and Fijians who want to return home can rest assured there will be enough flights and seats to cater for everyone," said Fiji Airways chief executive Andre Viljoen.
Morgan Kelly, Justin Walsh, and Andrew Hanson from Ernst and Young Australia were named as voluntary liquidators after the Vanuatu government put the airline into liquidation.
They'll conduct safety and maintenance checks before resuming normal operations.
"We have to ground the fleet to make sure the fleet's compliant with international regulations," Kelly told Today.
"We're going to reach out to all affected travellers today and try to rebook them as soon as possible."
Kelly said the liquidation team had arrived in Vanuatu yesterday.
"Certainly this has happened very, very quickly," he said.
But he admitted he wasn't sure at this stage how many would-be travellers had been affected, nor how long it would be before they could resume their journey.
"Air Vanuatu is critical to the people of the Republic of Vanuatu and a strategically important business to the nation," Kelly said in an earlier statement.
"Our team is working closely with management to ensure continuity of service to customers and to ensure services continue as seamlessly as possible.
"The outlook for the airline is positive, despite pressures on the broader industry, and we will be focused on securing the future of this strategically vital national carrier.
The first meeting of creditors will be scheduled shortly.
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