Lulutai Airlines, is a Tongan airline that operates domestic flights within

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

. It commenced operations on September 24, 2020, after the collapse of Tonga's only domestic airline,

Real Tonga Real Tonga, stylised as "REALtonga", was an airline that operated domestic flights within Tonga. It commenced operations in March 2013, becoming the twelfth airline to operate domestic flights in Tonga since air services began. In 2020 the airlin ...

Airlines.

History

Lulutai Airlines began flying in September 2020. This followed the demise of Real Tonga Airlines earlier that year, leaving Tonga without domestic air service. Real Tonga had struggled to be financially viable since its inception in 2013.

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

exacerbated that situation, and $500,000 in damages from a bird strike incident in Vava'u in May 2020 involving the Saab 340 forced the airline to close. Soon after, the Saab's owner, Montrose Global, canceled the lease and transferred the plane to Lulutai Airlines on a dry lease. The Tongan Government owns the Y12 plane after

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

gifted it.

Fleet

Tongan Government-owned Lulutai Airlines provides much-needed connectivity between the Tongan islands. The airline has a fleet of just two planes, a Saab 340 (A3-PUA) and a 12 seater

Harbin Y-12 The Harbin Y-12 () is a high wing twin-engine turboprop utility aircraft built by Harbin Aircraft Industry Group (HAIG). Design and development The Y-12 started as a development of the Harbin Y-11 airframe called Y-11T in 1980. The design featu ...

that formerly flew for now-defunct Real Tonga Airlines.

Destinations

Lulutai Airlines connects Tonga's primary airport at

Tongatapu Tongatapu is the main island of Tonga and the site of its capital, Nukualofa. It is located in Tonga's southern island group, to which it gives its name, and is the country's most populous island, with 74,611 residents (2016), 70.5% of the nation ...

(near the capital

Nukuʻalofa Nukualofa (; ) is the capital and largest city of Tonga. It is located on the north coast of the island of Tongatapu, in the country's southernmost island group. History First western records of Nukualofa On 10 June 1777, British captain James ...

) with Vava'u, Ha'apai, Niuafo'ou, and Niuatoputapu. According to the airline's website, it is planning to offer service to

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

Niue Niue (, ; niu, Niuē) is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, northeast of New Zealand. Niue's land area is about and its population, predominantly Polynesian, was about 1,600 in 2016. Niue is located in a triangle between Tong ...

, and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in the future, however it provided no expected launch dates.

Incidents

On January 17, 2023, Lulutai Airlines sent out an urgent public notice: "We regret to inform the public that our Saab aircraft must undertake urgent maintenance work, and will therefore be unable to conduct flights beginning Tuesday 17 January, 2023." "Although our other aircraft, the Y12 is still flying, we kindly ask for your understanding and cooperation as we prioritise passengers travelling for medical reasons, and passengers travelling to connect to international flights." Once again, we apologise for the inconvenience caused, but safety of air travel is our most important consideration."

Fiji Airways Fiji Airways (trading as and formerly known as Air Pacific) is the flag carrier airline of Fiji and operates international services from its hubs in Fiji to 13 countries and 26 cities including, Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, K ...

announced that it would support operations from February through June while the airline's Saab aircraft is undergoing urgent repairs that may take up to four months to complete. Passengers, islanders, and tourism companies expressed their frustration receiving refunds and disappointment with the news. The island of Vava'u has experienced devastating economic impacts to its tourism industry resulting from the suspension of services. In February 2023, the

Australian government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...

announced that it would help develop a business plan to aid Lulutai Airlines and help it service the island of Vava'u while the repairs were being completed. In December 2023 a Lulutai Saab 340 hit a cement block while taxiing at Fuaʻamotu International Airport. No passengers were harmed.

References

{{reflist Airlines of Tonga Airlines established in 2020 2020 establishments in Oceania