Collaboration needed for Pacific Island airlines ‘running out of money’

After years of discussion, but a lack of progress, collaboration between South Pacific airlines has resurfaced as a serious option, following the economic devastation and loss of air connectivity caused by COVID-19 across the region.

The Director General of the Association of South Pacific Airlines (ASPA), George Faktaufon, told October's CAPA Live event that finance was "the major problem" for airlines, as their owners, the region's governments, prioritised scarce recovery funds.

"The airlines are running out of money," said Mr Faktaufon. "The majority of airlines are state-owned. The states themselves will not have the money to sustain the airlines when borders reopen. We can't hold on to the status quo. I think the pandemic, with all of its ills, has given us the catalyst to review the way we operate."