Tonga’s Lulutai Airlines Grounded Over Safety Concerns

Tonga's Civil Aviation Division has suspended Lulutai Airlines’ air operator’s certificate, effective July 18, 2025, citing safety reasons. On its Facebook page, Lulutai Airlines said its Twin Otter and Harbin Y12 operated flights were cancelled for “unforeseen reasons,” effective July 19.

The Civil Aviation Division said they suspended the certificate “due to non-compliance with a Part 145 maintenance organisation certificate."

Part 145 refers to a regulatory framework that ensures that aircraft maintenance practices meet the certain safety and quality standards.

Saab 340 flights, operated by New Zealand’s Air Chathams on a damp lease basis, continue. Air Chathams looks after the maintenance on its own aircraft.

The DHC-6-300 Twin Otter, registered as A3-KLT (msn 929) and Harbin Y12, registered as A3-SPV (msn 32), link Tonga’s capital on the main island with Vava‘u (VAV), Ha‘apai (HPA), and Eua (EUA) Airports on other islands. Lulutai Airlines is the only scheduled passenger airline servicing Tonga’s various islands.

The Air Chathams 340B, registered as ZK-CIZ (msn 357), primarily flies between Tongatapu (TBU) and Vava’u. The cancellation of flights to smaller airports with shorter runways has left local residents and tourists stranded.

Meanwhile, the Tongan Government has extended the deadline to submit expressions of interest to invest in Lulutai Airlines. Interested parties were originally due to hand in their EOIs by July 14. However, Public Enterprises Minister Piveni Piukala told local media outlets that this was extended to July 28, after receiving advice to refine the selection criteria.

Piukala said the extension injected transparency and structure to the process. It also allowed the government to better differentiate between investors who wanted to run the airline and those who merely wanted an equity stake in it.

Neither Lulutai Airlines nor the Civil Aviation Division have said when the air operator’s certificate might be reinstated.