THE first proposed chartered flight to schedule to take Solomon Islands Government (SIG) sponsored students studying in Fiji was cancelled yesterday after the plane failed to make it back to the country.
Reports reaching this paper revealed the airlines airbus was grounded in Nandi, Fiji due to electrical faults developed by the plane.
“Engineers identified electrical faults on Sunday morning.
“The aircraft was due to return from Nadi on Sunday but was unable to do so.
“This has also impacted other flights such as flight IE700 from Honiara to Brisbane (scheduled for Sunday afternoon) and flight IE701 from Brisbane to Honiara (scheduled for Monday morning).
The airlines advised the public that replacement parts have been secured from the United States and are awaiting delivery to Nadi for a fix to be completed.
“Further updates will be provided when received but an expected extended delay appears likely.”
The airline says that there will be no charges/fees for refunds or additional costs for rerouting as desired by the passengers,” it stated.
A spokesperson from Solomon Airlines said they expect the first chattered flight to continue before Friday.
The first chattered flight for students was scheduled to depart at 3:15 pm yesterday but was cancelled due to the problem.
Students flooded the NTU office to collect their tickets only to see a notice pasted on the wall that the flight was cancelled.
By STEPHEN DI’ISANGO
