Vandalism seen as big challenge in civil aviation industry

Landowner issues and vandalism have been the biggest challenges faced by the civil aviation industry, its Minister Alfred Manasseh says.
Speaking at the signing of a contract between National Airports Corporation and Essar Projects for the Kagamuga Airports last Friday, Manasseh said the Mt Hagen airport was shut down for a few days that affected businesses.
He said vandalism such as the recent one at Gurney Airport in Milne Bay where safety equipment was damaged, created a risky situation for aircraft and passengers.
“Ethnic classes around our airports contributed by various reasons such as politics had resulted in the closure of airports such as Kagamuga and Mendi, affecting normal flow of things in and out of the province,” Manasseh said.
“Landowner grievances, particularly in Buka, have affected the progress of the Buka Airport fending project and poses a high risk in the Buka pavement upgrade.
“Apec summit in 2018 is quite significant for the country. It’s a great opportunity to showcase our country to the world.
“NAC is working closely with the Apec planning committee to ensure major aspects of Apec are addressed around the airport areas, which is the point of entry.”
Manasseh said the important thing was that while PNG improved the major airports, it could also look at improving rural airstrips.
“That’s a challenge for development partners and together we can enable the whole of Papua New Guinea to travel at an affordable price while not compromising the safety and security of our people,” Manasseh said.
NAC managing director Richard Yopo said they were also looking at other airports including Lae, Tokua and Wewak to include similar services.
“We’d like to have some regional hubs where we can get big planes in so that we can actually grow the internal volumes.
“NAC is partnering with the Asian Development Bank and members of the aviation industry family like Air Niugini to understand what kind of fleet they are bringing in so we can build our airports to meet their demand,” Yopo said.