THE arrival of an Air Nauru flight into Honiara international airport over the weekend is to get fuel.
A government official made the clarification following concerns raised by a number of Honiara residents as to why an aircraft arrived on Saturday following the order issued by Prime Minister Manasseh Sgovare to close international flight services as of Friday.
Some expressed their concern via social media.
The top official confirmed an Air Nauru flight made the stopover at Honiara international on Saturday to refuel the aircraft.
“No passengers disembark or board the flight during the stopover,” the official clarified.
Air Nauru usually serve the Brisbane-Nauru-Brisbane each weekend.
It used to provide service into Honiara but has since suspended the service.
Meanwhile, Robert Iroga from SBMOnline reported that the government is finding ways to send two samples out of Honiara following the suspension of Solomon Airlines’ services to Brisbane, Australia on Friday.
Two samples were taken on Friday but since then they had not been sent to Melbourne where blood samples of suspected COVID-19 cases are usually tested.
Minister of Health and Medical Services Dickson Mua told SBMOnline they are working on getting Air Nauru which always calls in to refill.
Air Nauru usually gets fuel in Honiara but its passengers are not allowed to leave the aircraft during any stopover.
The country remains COVID-19 free since the outbreak in December.