When Mr. Bob Pollard, the Senior Board Member of Solomon Airlines appeared before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) last Tuesday he said the national flag carrier, Solomon Airlines, will lose SBD$45 million dollars this year as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to affect the airlines operations.
“This is a huge challenge for our airline and this year alone will be very tough in terms of our finance,” Mr. Pollard told the PAC.
At the moment Mr. Pollard said Solomon Airlines is only going ahead with approved repatriation flights and charters.
In the meantime Mr. Pollard said they will continue to seek Government assistance as the financial challenge continues for the airlines.
“We need support from the government,” he added.
Footnotes.
The PAC inquiry was conducted by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to scrutinise the Government Budget of $3,905,951,360.00 which ended on Wednesday.
It is understood that last year the Government injected SBD$20 million to salvage Solomon Airlines when the pandemic’s impact was at its peak.
That’s when the government closed its international borders and grounded all international flights.
The Solomon Star newspaper has cited that the A320 Airbus continues flying a weekly cargo flight between Brisbane and Honiara as well as operating very limited and strictly controlled repatriation flights to bring people home to Solomon Islands.
“With the fixed cost of USD$195,000 remain our revenue will continue to suffer,” Colin Sigimanu Commercial Manager for Solomon Airlines also told the PAC.
Source. Solomon Star News.
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
