Air Vanuatu’s ATR72 back in the air after engine change

By Andrew Curran.

Air Vanuatu’s sole ATR72-600 is returning to revenue service today, August 26, after a fortnight on the ground at Cairns for an engine change. The aircraft, YJ-AV73 (msn 1358), ferried from Cairns (CNS) to Port Vila (VLI) yesterday.

“She returns to the domestic network from tomorrow morning,” Air Vanuatu posted on its social media channels yesterday.

YJ-AV73 headed to Cairns in mid-August after spending two weeks out-of-service in Port Vila. The ATR usually flies the Port Vila–Luganville/Espiritu Santo (SON) and Port Vila–Tanna (TAH) routes. While the aircraft was at Cairns Airport, Air Vanuatu deployed one of its DHC-6-300 Twin Otters onto the Tanna run and wet-leased a Twin Otter from Solomon Airlines to cover the Luganville route.

“The past weeks tested our teams,” posted Air Vanuatu. “Holding the network together on a reduced fleet took a great deal from our crews, our airport staff, and our reservations team.”

Aside from the ATR72, Air Vanuatu is home to a fleet of four Twin Otters, although at least half of those appear to be out of service, with ADS-B flight-tracking sites showing no recent activity. A fifth Twin Otter, originally due to arrive from Canada in the first quarter of 2026, then April and then July, has not yet been delivered.

Government owned Air Vanuatu was liquidated in 2024, mired in debt and dysfunction. It was later sold to a Ministry of Foreign Affairs controlled shelf company. However, the airline remains in a rebuilding phase and under financial stress.

Air Vanuatu’s ATR72 only returned to service in March after seven months out of service because of engine issues. Getting the aircraft back in the air reportedly cost Air Vanuatu’s ultimate owner, the Vanuatu Government, USD2.5 million.

It is not entirely clear why YJ-AV73 needed to have an engine replaced so soon. The downtime at Cairns was planned, although there is some speculation that Air Vanuatu relied on a leased engine with limited remaining flight hours to get its ATR back in the air earlier this year.

The engine replacement was undertaken by Skytek Pty Ltd, a privately owned aviation maintenance and repair company.

Photo: Air Vanuatu.
Contact the writer: andrew@aerosouthpacific.com