Solomon Islands has witnessed a historic milestone within the civil aviation sector as it welcomes the inaugural flight from China to Solomon Islands last week.
The service which was operated by TransNusa Airline’s Airbus A320 touched down at the Honiara International Airport approximately 7:40pm on Thursday 19 December much to the delight of the government officials and guests.
The flight was welcomed by the Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Bradley Tovosia, the Minister for Communication and Aviation, Frederick Kologeto, Minister for Education and Human Resource Development, Tozen Leokana, Deputy Chair to Caucus, MP Cathy Nori, MP for East Central Guadalcanal, Lazarus Rimah, former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Aviation and Communication and current Deputy Chairman of Solomon Ports, Moses Virivolomo and members of the Fujian Solomon Community, including the former Member of Parliament for East Honiara, Douglas Ete.
The new flight route of Fujian City-Manado City (Indonesia)-Honiara City is seen by Solomon Islands Government as a significant boost, not only to Solomon Islands tourism industry, but also to commerce and trade, particularly in the fishery sector.
In his remarks at the occasion, DPM Tovosia highlighted that following Solomon Islands’ signing of various cooperation agreements with China, the Fujian Solomon Community Association, under the leadership of Mr Bin Wang, established an agreement with TransNusa to operate flights covering the Fuzhou City-Mendao City-Honiara City route.
“These arrangements are in full compliance with the Civil Aviation Laws of Solomon Islands,” he added.
DPM Tovosia said Airbus A320, with a passenger capacity of 174, is poised to benefit from the upcoming enforcement of the visa-free agreement for up to 30 days for ordinary passport holders of China and Solomon Islands.
The agreement will take effect on Saturday 28 December 2024.
In turn, Mr Bin expressed gratitude to Solomon Islands Government for facilitating this arrangement in line with its flagship policy to strengthen and diversify the economic base through the fostering of ventures in the fishing industry, tourism industry and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), capitalising on its trade arrangement with China.
He also expressed optimism that this development will lead to the creation of new job opportunities for Solomon Islanders.
By DELI-SHARON OSO
Solomon Star, Honiara
