Message of thanks from Solomon Airlines CEO

Dear Customers, Partners, and our own Solomon Airlines team,

As 2020 draws to a close I wanted to provide an update and to thank you all, for your support and perseverance through Solomon Airlines most difficult year.

This time last year, things were bright as we looked forward to the arrival of Solomon Airlines new Airbus A320, a new Twin Otter aircraft, and significant growth in passenger numbers.

However as we all know, it was not to be. First, the restrictions due to the risk of measles and then COVID-19 travel and border restrictions that impacted our operations overnight.

As I write this, our scheduled flying to Australia, Fiji, Vanuatu and Kiribati still remains officially suspended until at least 27 March, 2021, however we are also continuing Government approved repatriation flights to bring stranded Solomon Islands citizens home.

I am thrilled to advise that from 8 January 2021 with Government approval, we will be able to commence selling seats and carrying a limited number of passengers on our regular cargo flights every Friday between Brisbane and Honiara. This is the first sign of travel starting to return.

Our domestic flying although still reduced, is also slowly increasing, helped by our ‘Helpful Holidays’ initiative.

This discounted travel programme was designed to encourage domestic travel and to help our hard-hit tourism operators to remain in business.

The latest Helpful Holidays are family-friendly holiday packages with discounted flights for children, which will enable more families to fly across the Solomon Islands and reunite this festive season.

We would like to express our appreciation to the Solomon Islands Government for assistance, which has enabled us to complete the purchase of our new Twin Otter aircraft, a process we started in 2018. The aircraft has been painted and will be delivered to the Solomon Islands early in January 2021

This new 19-seat aircraft with greater take-off and landing weight capability and updated navigation equipment that will enable us to move more people and cargo more efficiently in the Solomon Islands, producing better service for our customers and better economies of scale for our business.  

I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank every member of Solomon Airlines team, the Solomon Islands Government, our suppliers, valued customers, and industry partners for your dedication to preserving Solomon Airlines as the national carrier.

I have no doubt that with careful management over the coming year, Solomon Airlines international flying will slowly resume and our business will start to recover. We can also expect tourism to the Solomon Airlines to develop safely and sustainability from 2022 onwards.

May I wish you all and your own families and loved ones a safe and happy Christmas, and to thank you once again for your understanding and commitment as we work together through this extremely challenging time for people everywhere.

Yours sincerely,

Brett Gebers

Chief Executive Officer

Solomon Airlines