Waghi, did you see this as well?
Wartoto, airline crew land in Bougainville (30/08/2011)
By STEPHANIE ELIZAH
EXCITEMENT rippled through the crowd of onlookers as they witnessed the arrival of the ‘Mangi lo peles’ aircraft at Buka Airport last Thursday.
The Fokker 50 aircraft, which belongs to controversial Rabaul businessman and owner of Travel Air Services Eremas Wartoto,
landed on Bougainville soil for the first time much to the delight of Bougainville regional MP Fidelis Semoso.
Wartoto said the short visit to Buka was a trial run for his pilot crew of two expatriates and two nationals and that a formal launch of his
company’s services to the autonomous region was planned for October.
He said he accompanied his crew to Bougainville to inform the region’s leaders of his intention to provide air services to the bulk of the rural population on Bougainville.
He said flight services would include landing at Aropa Airport, where the bulk of Bougainvilleans from Central and South Bougainville were in need of air services.
Wartoto urged the Bougainville government to open Aropa Airport as soon as possible so that flights could extend to mainland Bougainville.
Semoso said the leaders and people of Bougainville appreciated this initiative and looked forward to the airline’s services.
Semoso said he had put in a submission for K700 million to the national government for establishing airport facilities at Aropa Airport.
He said the reopening of Aropa Airport was in the best interests of the people of Bougainville.
Semoso thanked Wartoto for including Bougainville as one of the primary routes his company would provide air services to,
saying the cost of flying Air Niugini was too expensive and the region needed competition so that airfares would be reduced.