Calls for inquiry as Fiji Airways nets $215mn gov’t funding

Fiji Airways (FJ, Nadi) has had to turn to taxpayers for FJD455 million Fijian dollars (USD215 million) in assistance, of which it has already received FJD250 million (USD118 million) in loans to survive for the time being, the Fiji Times reported. Fiji Airways CEO Andre Viljoen confirmed that the carrier had received the loans. Mahendra Chaudhry, leader of the opposition Fiji Labour Party and a former prime minister, said the parliament had approved a “massive post-covid-19 bailout” of FJD455 million but warned that this would not be enough to keep the carrier afloat, as borders with major inbound tourism source markets Australia and New Zealand are not likely to open anytime soon. Fiji Airways must therefore come up with a viable rescue plan in which fleet size and staff costs must be “rationalised”, he said. “The national airline is unlikely to survive without a comprehensive review and restructuring of its operations – its finances, workforce, fleet size, flight schedules, and destinations,” Chaudhry said. Fijians are entitled to know how the flag carrier will restructure itself to meet the demands of a changed market “without becoming an enormous liability on the taxpayer,” he said, adding that “such a plan was a notable omission from economy minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum’s 2020-2021 budget address.” Fiji Airways parent Air Pacific Group is owned by the Fijian government (51%) and Qantas (46.32%), while Air New Zealand and the governments of Kiribati, Tonga, Nauru, and Samoa hold minor stakes. Member of parliament Ro Filipe Tuisawau of the opposition Social Democratic Liberal Party called for an urgent inquiry into Fiji Airways’ recent aircraft acquisitions, submitting a motion to be tabled for a parliamentary sitting in the first week of September.