Yahoo Lifestyle Heavily pregnant woman among Aussies stranded as Air Vanuatu enters voluntary liquidation
Air Vanuatu has been particularly affected in recent times by disruption of tourism activity due to cyclones, liquidators say.
A heavily pregnant woman is among Australians stranded in Vanuatu as the country's national airline is placed into voluntary liquidation. On Thursday it emerged that all international flights scheduled on Air Vanuatu until Sunday had been cancelled, as the government "reviewed" the airline's future.
In a statement to media, Air Vanuatu confirmed international firm Ernst and Young (EY) had been "appointed to assist the Vanuatu government" in operations moving forward. Merely hours after the announcement, on Friday morning Ernst and Young formally announced the embattled airline had been placed into voluntary liquidation, leaving hundreds of travellers stranded and staff in the lurch.
"Air Vanuatu is critical to the people of the Republic of Vanuatu and a strategically important business to the nation," EY's Morgan Kelly told media.
Air Vanuatu affected by disruption of tourism
"Our team is working closely with management to ensure continuity of service to customers and to ensure services continue as seamlessly as possible. The outlook for the airline is positive, despite pressures on the broader industry, and we will be focused on securing the future of this strategically vital national carrier."
Air Vanuatu has been particularly affected by disruption of tourism activity due to cyclones, Kelly added.
He admitted that the process had happened "very, very quickly" but was unable to reveal how many travellers had been affected. "We have to ground the fleet to make sure the fleet's compliant with international regulations," Kelly told Today. "We're going to reach out to all affected travellers today and try to rebook them as soon as possible."
Seven-month pregnant Aussie among travellers stranded
One woman who is stranded on the island hotspot, Adara Brooks, is 31 weeks pregnant. Brooks said she and her husband Tyler were about to head to the airport when they received the news that their flights had been cancelled. The next flights out of the country, she explained, are almost several weeks away.
"The next flight out is like at the end of the month, in two weeks or something," she told Today. "We found out yesterday through our [hotel] reception. We were going to go and jump on our transport, to get to our flight, and they let us know that it was cancelled.
"We hadn't had an email yet, no correspondence."
Insurance won't cover stranded travellers
Brooks said she was concerned about her remaining children at home in Melbourne, and for her health given how far along she is in her pregnancy.
"We are definitely pretty keen to get home," she said. "We have two little toddlers at home as well. We are keen to get home as soon as we can." The family are now likely to be "out of pocket thousands" as their travel insurance may not front the associated costs.
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"Because they've gone into liquidation, there's fine print in most insurance policies that don't cover liquidation or administration," Brooks said.
DFAT weighs in
Air Vanuatu, which is owned by the Vanuatu government, had long been dealing with issues affecting its services including flight delays and cancellations. Speaking to Yahoo News Australia, a spokesperson from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said it was "aware of reports".
"The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is aware of reports that Air Vanuatu and related codeshare flights have been cancelled or re-scheduled all flights over the coming days," a spokesperson told Yahoo.
"Vanuatu continues to be serviced by a number of international airlines. Australians affected by the travel delays should contact their travel agent or travel insurance company. Australians in need of emergency consular assistance should contact the Australian Government’s 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre on 1300 555 135 (within Australia) or +61 2 6261 3305 (from overseas)."
The Australian Government does not track the number of Aussie citizens, permanent residents, or their immediate families in locations overseas. DFAT’s travel advice for Vanuatu states that international flights can be impacted at short notice by aircraft issues and recommends travellers obtain comprehensive insurance before they leave the country.
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