Air Vanuatu Providing Essential Domestic Air Services Using PT6-Powered Twin Otters

Air Vanuatu has been dealing with the fall-out from COVID-19, but in April also had to contend with a cyclone that devastated parts of the country it serves.

The national carrier of Vanuatu – a South Pacific island nation of about 300,000 people – has continued to fly domestically throughout the pandemic period, except for the few days in April 2020 when category five cyclone Harold made landfall in Vanuatu.

Stephen Ireland, Air Vanuatu’s general manager of maintenance and engineering, says domestic air services are essential, because the country comprises 83 islands spread across more than 12,000 square kilometers.

There are ferries between the islands, however, it takes much longer to travel that way. Ireland says the journey by sea from capital Port Villa to the island of Espiritu Santo, the largest in the archipelago, is by overnight ferry but just 45 minutes by air.

He says most international air services to Vanuatu have stopped in an effort to prevent COVID-19 cases coming into the country, however, domestic air services continue to operate within Vanuatu.

Domestic passenger numbers are down, “although there are still many people travelling between the islands and there’s a lot of produce being transported. Because the country is so vast, we bring produce from the other islands because they have a different season to us [in Port Villa],” he says.

Ireland says the residents in Port Villa come from all over the archipelago, “so people do go back to their home islands to visit family and friends.”

When cyclone Harold made landfall in early April, Ireland says it devasted parts of the northern islands of Espiritu Santos, Ambae, Pentecost and Ambrym.

“We have had a lot of cyclones, [but] they don’t always go through and cause as much damage as this one. I saw photos of some villages where there was nothing left,” he says.

“We had no contact with them for 10 days until after the cyclone, so the only way for people to find out what going on, was to fly up there and search for their family.”

Air Vanuatu also flew in aid and supplies that the Red Cross, Oxfam and other organizations used to help those affected and rebuild villages.

By way of example, Ireland says they flew in tarpaulins, chainsaws and basic building tools. “In the northern islands, if they can get a chainsaw and a hammer, they can build anything. They have been through this before.”

With responsibility for these critical flights, it’s a good thing that the three de Havilland Canada Series 300 Twin Otters in Air Vanuatu’s domestic fleet are very rugged.

“The Twin Otter is good for short airfields, and we have a lot of those. We serve 29 airfields in Vanuatu. Some of our air fields are literally crushed coral on the side of a beach. Many aircraft couldn’t cope with that, as it is rough terrain,” says Ireland.

The fact Pratt & Whitney Canada’s (P&WC) PT6A engine type has been powering the Twin Otter aircraft platform since its inception is testimony to the reliable performance of the engine, says Ireland.

P&WC has a large installed fleet of PT6 operators around the world – many of which are operating in challenging environments. They can rely on P&WC to have a depth and breadth of customer service experience that is unmatched in the industry.

He says the PT6A has proven that it can perform well in Vanuatu’s challenging environment and that the airline takes great care of its engines.

Ireland says “We have four active volcanoes in Vanuatu in various states of activity. We monitor volcanic activity daily. Sometimes we have to change our schedules to make sure we avoid flying through ash.”

He also says: “Everywhere we land is within [a few] kilometers of the sea, so we are in a very salt-laden environment. We do a lot more compressor washes than most other operators would do.”

He says another key benefit of the PT6 is that the maintenance team can do a ‘hot section’ inspection on-wing. For some other engine types, the engine needs to be taken off wing and shipped to an engine shop for a hot section inspection. “We can split the engine here and do a ‘hot section’ inspection and we do that,” says Ireland.

Regular compressor washes are a recommended preventive maintenance activity, which enable customers to keep their costs down.

Air Vanuatu is a state-owned airline and Vanuatu's national flag carrier based in Port Vila. It hopes to resume flying visitors from Australia, New Zealand and points across the South Pacific to Vanuatu’s archipelago of some 83 islands to showcase Vanuatu as a destination for families, honeymooners and explorers alike.