Felix Chaudhary 
Fiji Airways today restarted commercial passenger operations to Port Vila, becoming the first commercial carrier to service Vanuatu after the 7.3 magnitude earthquake that hit the country last Tuesday.
Supplementary flight FJ2265, a Boeing 737 Max8 aircraft departed Nadi at 11:59am and landed at Port Vila at 1:04pm, just a few minutes after the airport reopened to commercial flights at 1pm today.
Fiji Airways said the aircraft carried 98 passengers made up of a Fiji Government relief team advance party, returning Vanuatu nationals and residents and aid workers, plus a payload of assistance goods.
Also on board was a Fiji Airways ground party to service the aircraft at Port Vila and prepare and load it for its return journey.
The national carrier said FJ2265 was the first commercial service to arrive at Port Vila on its reopening, and the return flight FJ2264 was the first commercial departure – which carried returning Fiji nationals and residents, and other guests disrupted by the closure of Port Vila following the earthquake on 17 December.
Fiji Airways said their normal schedule will resume this afternoon and is timed to arrive and depart within the airport’s current operating times of 1pm to 6pm and further services will operate tomorrow.
