Papua New Guinea's PM Calls for Better Air Connectivity
By Andrew Curran.
Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister James Marape has called for more efficient, reliable, and better-connected air travel across the Southwest Pacific.
Speaking at the opening of the Association of South Pacific Airlines General Assembly in Port Moresby on November 12, Marape said air travel was vital to connecting people and facilitating trade.
“Our goal must be to make air travel more efficient, more reliable, and more accessible for our people, because connectivity drives development,” he said. “We must continue to work together to ensure our airlines, our airports, and our aviation systems remain strong.”
Papua New Guinea remains poorly connected
Port Moresby was a pertinent setting for Marape’s call for better aviation connectivity, given the city is so poorly served by foreign carriers.
Around 430,000 people live in Port Moresby, and the country is home to almost 11 million people. On raw population numbers, it is the second biggest market in the Southwest Pacific, after Australia, but only three foreign airlines serve the market.
Qantas comes in from Brisbane (BNE), Philippine Airlines flies in from Manila (MNL), and China Southern Airlines jets in from Guangzhou (CAN).
In recent times, Qantas operated a service from Sydney (SYD) and Citilink flew to Port Moresby from Denpasar (DPS). However, both airlines have discontinued those flights.
As a result, local state-owned carrier Air Niugini does the bulk of the heavy lifting, ferrying passengers in and out of Papua New Guinea. Alongside an extensive domestic network, Air Niugini flies to three Australian airports, three airports in Southeast Asia, and the Southwest Pacific airports of Nadi (NAN), Honiara (HIR), and Port Vila (VLI).
“A connected Pacific is a stronger Pacific,” said Marape.
Aviation is important in Papua New Guinea
Aviation is important in Papua New Guinea, which takes in some 600 islands, including New Britain, Bougainville, New Ireland, Manus, and Buka. Around 160 of these islands are inhabited. Mountainous terrain on the main island, home to the bulk of the population, has resulted in a poor road network, and no rail infrastructure.
Aero South Pacific’s Papua New Guinea Country Brief, which you can download for free here, notes that there are 21 airports across the country serviced by either Air Niugini or PNG Air.
Marape said air travel and good connectivity was essential for his country and the rest of the Southwest Pacific.
He said his government was spending money upgrading airports and modernising Air Niugini, including buying new aircraft.
Air Niugini’s first A220-300 arrived recently. The airline is also expecting the first of two B787-8s in 2027.
Papua New Guinea airport upgrades behind schedule
Upgrades are underway at five airports around Papua New Guinea, namely Hoskins (HKN) on New Britain Island, Gurney (GUR) on Alotau Island, Aropa (KIE) on Bougainville, and Wewak (WWK) and Kiunga (UNG) on the mainland. However, it was recently reported that the upgrades, undertaken as part of the country's Civil Aviation Development Investment Programme 2, is behind schedule, with only 40% of the planned work completed by the end of September.
But Marape said he remained committed to seeing the projects completed.
“My government is investing in aviation because we understand its importance to our economy and our people,” he said.
The Association of South Pacific Airlines is a forum for the region’s airlines. It meets twice-yearly and has over a dozen member airlines ranging in size from Qantas to Air Rarotonga. Its two day General Assembly in Port Moresby concludes today.
Photo: Air Niugini.