In light of continuous complaints from the travelling public, Air Niugini has come out to reassure passengers that it continues to work to improve services despite challenges faced, with recent statistics showing the improvements.

Air Niugini’s Officer in Charge, Captain Samiu Taufa, has confirmed that for the period of 14th to 22nd December, 93% of planned services operated.

Some 575 out of 618 flights operated, with the remainder mainly being affected by bad weather including at Wewak and ongoing maintenance issues with aging aircraft.

“The staff and management of Air Niugini remain committed to getting Christmas travelers to their destination safely, and without significant delay,” Captain Taufa said.

“Christmas is the busiest time of the year when Air Niugini flight crew and staff are working their hardest to get aircraft safely away to their destinations.”

Despite periods where individual Fokker and Dash 8 aircraft are not in service for maintenance checks and servicing, he said replacement aircraft are being brought forward as quickly as possible.

“The bad weather in Wewak on Friday and Saturday caused 10 flights to be cancelled as a result of flooding on the runway.”

Meanwhile, he said with the commencement of the brand-new Airbus A220- 300 series service should help out more.

“As of yesterday, the third Airbus A220 entered service on its maiden Air Niugini commercial flight taking passengers to Kavieng.”

“We now have enough aircraft available, and it all comes down to managing the flow of passengers through the terminals with the right aircraft type for each destination.

“There are still some tickets available for sale for last-minute Christmas travel.

“Customers should check the Air Niugini website or contact a sales office or your preferred travel agents to purchase tickets.”

Captain Taufa also reminded all airline passengers to plan their arrival time at the airport, so they avoid long queues outside the terminal waiting to check in for their flights.