Air Niugini to start Moresby-Narita flights

AIR Niugini will start a new service between Port Moresby and Narita, Japan, in September with a stopover in Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM).
This follows the signing of an air services agreement between the prime ministers of Japan and Papua New Guinea and the president of FSM during the Pacific Alliance Leaders’ Meeting (Palm) in Japan this month.
The agreement gives Air Niugini the right to fly between Narita and Chuuk on the way to and from Port Moresby.
The airline is now able to operate from Narita to Chuuk twice weekly and aims to target a growing volume of tourists from Japan.
The existing weekly scheduled service Port Moresby, Chuuk and Pohnpei remains.
It will operate on Thursdays and will return via the same route on Fridays as of Sept 1.
Air Niugini acting chief executive Tahawar Durrani said there had been an increase of Japanese and Australian tourists and divers, as well as business travellers for this route.
He said a market analysis carried out confirmed that further growth on the Japan route could be achieved by including a stopover at FSM.
“The direct Narita-Chuuk-Port Moresby service is targeted at Japanese tourists, divers and other travellers who tend to take shorter stays in either destination, while longer stay visitors from further afield will be able to experience the wonders of both countries in a single trip,” Durrani said.
“Together with the existing Pohnpei-Chuuk-Port Moresby service, we will continue to provide convenient connections through Port Moresby for business and tourist travellers to various Air Niugini destinations in Papua New Guinea, Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands and Australia, further enhancing Port Moresby as a gateway hub in the region.”