Tonga PM blames payload limits for Lulutai Airlines losses

By Andrew Curran.

Tonga’s Prime Minister says payload restrictions are one of the reasons why state-owned carrier Lulutai Airlines remains a drain on the country’s coffers.

Prime Minister Fatafehi Kinikinilau Lolomana'ia Fakafānua (Lord Fakafānua) told Nukuʻalofa-based journalists this week that Lulutai’s sole DHC-6-300 Twin Otter often only filled 12 of its 19 seats.

He said this was due to the weight of Tongan passengers. While Polynesians are naturally large people, more than 90% of Tonga’s adult population is currently classified as obese.

The other option available to Lulutai Airlines is to cut the amount of freight carried. The outcome is lower revenue for each flight operated.

The Twin Otter, A3-KLT (msn 929), is one of three aircraft operated by or for Lulutai Airlines. The other aircraft include a Chinese-manufactured Harbin Y12 (msn 32) and a Saab 340A wet-leased from New Zealand’s Air Chathams.

The ten-year-old DHC-6-300 was operated by Reignwood Star General Aviation (also known as Reignwood Asia Aviation) before the Tongan Government acquired it for Lulutai Airlines in 2023.

Tonga's Twin Otter continues to cause controversy

The lack of transparency around the purchase has always been controversial in Tonga. Tonga’s politics are turbulent and ministers and prime ministers come and go. The Twin Otter purchase predated the Fakafānua administration, which came to power in late 2025. 

The Huʻakavameiliku government, led by Prime Minister Siaosi 'Ofakivahafolau Sovaleni, decided to buy the Twin Otter. The current government says there was a lack of due diligence around its purchase, including properly assessing whether it was fit for purpose and represented value for money.

The Tongan Government hasn’t released any recent audited financial statements for Lulutai Airlines, but various administrations have noted the high cost of maintaining the carrier. In 2025, there was a push to partly or fully privatise Lulutai Airlines, but that has dropped off the agenda since the Fakafānua administration came to power.

Since arriving in Tonga, the Twin Otter has repeatedly unexpectedly gone out of service. Around 12 months after delivery, both engines needed replacing – at considerable cost. This caused further questions about due diligence and pre-delivery inspection procedures.

Tonga's aviation incident disclosure failures

Meanwhile, both the Tongan Government and its aviation safety agency, the Civil Aviation Office, have not released details of a late-August incident when an airport worker overloaded an Air Chathams Saab 340A flying for Lulutai Airlines and failed to declare it on the manifest, creating problems when the aircraft landed.

Aero South Pacific is aware that an investigation is underway. Air Chathams declined to comment, citing non-disclosure terms in its contract, while the Civil Aviation Office did not respond to requests for comment.

Details of an April 2026 collapsed nose gear incident involving a King Air B200 operating on behalf of the Forum Fisheries Agency at Nukuʻalofa’s Fuaʻamotu Airport (TBU), including a preliminary report, have also not been released.

Tonga’s lack of transparency is despite its Civil Aviation Office actively participating in regional aviation safety meetings and dialogues, including the recent ICAO Asia-Pacific Development Partners’ Dialogue, the 15th Dialogue with the Chief Executives of Civil Aviation of the Pacific Island States, and the 61st Conference of Directors General of Civil Aviation for the Asia and Pacific Region.

Photo: AI-Generated.
Contact the writer: andrew@aerosouthpacific.com