Air Vanuatu ferries in another Twin Otter
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By Andrew Curran.
22.01.26: Updated with further information about the delivery flight.
The first of two refurbished Air Vanuatu DHC-6-300 Twin Otters have arrived in Port Vila.
The aircraft, N708GH (msn 481), left California last week piloted by Air Vanuatu chairman, Robin Deamer. Flight tracking data shows the plane landing in Port Vila on January 20, 2026, after ferrying from Santa Maria (SMX) to Vanuatu via Hilo (ITO) and Pago Pago (PPG).
N708GH is 50.3 years old, having initially flown for Merpati Nusantara Airlines. That airline withdrew it from service in 2014, putting the aircraft into storage until 2023, when it was acquired by Aviation Management Sales, dismantled and shipped to Florida.
Florida-based lawyer Bogdan Teofilovici, who represented Aviation Management Sales, the vendor of the two Twin Otters, in negotiations with Vanuatu, describes the planes as "fully refurbished" in a now two-month-old Facebook post.
Port Vila's Daily Post newspaper says the Vanuatu Government paid VUV540 million (USD4.45 million) for each aircraft.
“(The) government and people of Vanuatu are stoked to welcome this awesome addition to our skies,” the Vanuatu Prime Minister’s office posted on Facebook at the time. “We are rebuilding our airline.”
Doubling Air Vanuatu's Twin Otter fleet
N708GH was due to arrive in Vanuatu in December but was delayed, reportedly due to paperwork issues. The second aircraft, originally due to arrive in Vanuatu next month, has now been pushed back to March.
When delivered, the two aircraft will boost Air Vanuatu’s fleet of Twin Otters to four aircraft. A fifth aircraft, an ATR72-600, has been out of service since August 2025 and is awaiting a new engine.
In the meantime, Deamer says the additional DHC-6-300s will “immediately enhance service reliability and frequency on key domestic routes.”
The two Twin Otters are Air Vanuatu’s first aircraft acquisitions since its restructuring.
Photo: Air Vanuatu.
Contact the writer: andrew@aerosouthpacific.com