Airports Air Niugini invests in hangar facilities at Jacksons Airport

The new facility should eventually allow heavy maintenance of aircraft to be carried out in Papua New Guinea, which could result in cost savings for the airline.

A first heavy check of a Dash 8 aircraft in Port Moresby was completed in 2017 and another should follow in the next months.

Air Niugini CEO Simon Foo announced the investment in a statement marking the completion of a four-year training course at the Air New Zealand Aviation Institute of ten Aircraft Maintenance Engineers.

During the welcome ceremony Simon Foo said: “Aviation is a highly regulated and compliant industry and we are serious about training, whether it is for engineers, pilots, cabin crew, or ground staff. Air Niugini invests about K600,000 in training each young Papua New Guinean engineer or pilot cadet. The achievement by these ten young people is something we at Air Niugini, their families and our country can be proud of.”

With the new staff and a new hangar Air Niugini plans to reduce costs for the outsourcing of its fleet maintenance in New Zealand and Australia. The carrier currently operates a fleet of one Boeing 737-700, two Boeing 737-800, two Being 767-300ER, seven Fokker 100 and five Fokker 70. For its fleet renewal the airline has ordered four Boeing 737 MAX 8, one Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner and additional Fokker 70. Link PNG is a regional airline subsidiary of Air Niugini, operating four Bombardier Dash 8-300, three Dash 8-200 and one Dash 8-400 aircraft.