Airliner develops pilots, new routes and freighter

The National Transport PNG

Airline Pilots trained in Papua New Guinea are always in demand around the world.
PNG Air Chief Commercial Officer, Paul Abbot said PNG trained pilots were always in demand and it was always a challenge for the company.
PNG Air has a low hours cadet programme in place which trains cadets to be pilots.
He said PNG Air has seven ATR 72-600 and plans to expand to new route in Jayapura was still in negotiations.
Small domestic routes are not viable for the larger aircraft such as ATR and the company operates to twenty-five ports which includes;

  • Port Moresby
  • Lae
  • Mt Hagen
  • Tari
  • Tabubil
  • Kiunga
  • Daru
  • Mendi
  • Moro
  • Goroka
  • Wapenamanda
  • Madang
  • Wewak
  • Vanimo
  • Popondetta
  • Tufi
  • Losuia
  • Misima
  • Kimbe
  • Kokopo
  • Buka
  • Kieta
  • Kavieng
  • Lihir
  • Alotau
  • Simberi and Cairns on (Charter)

He said PNG Air has added to its fleet a Dash 8 freighter which would carry only freight while the other Dash 8 carried passengers and freight.
The new freighter has a 4 tonne uplift capacity which has supported the airlifting of much needed supplies into the earthquake affected areas in the Highlands.
In addition, the Dash 8 passenger fleet still retain the ability to be configured to provide supplementary support for the freighter which provides even more options for freight companies and customers looking to move goods around the country.” he said.