Fiji Airways’ first flight took off on September 1,1951. It was a seven-seater de Havilland Dragon Rapide biplane that departed Fiji’s capital Suva, and flew to Drasa Airport near Lautoka, on the west coast of the main island.
Since then, Fiji’s national carrier has grown into an international airline with an extended network to 108 global destinations.
Fiji has been closed to tourism since March of 2020 due to the global pandemic and on August 31,2021, Fiji’s Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama announced to the media that they are ready to welcome travelers again as they plan to reopen by November 1, 2021.
“That’s the target we’ve set now, and it bases itself on the success we’ve had with the vaccination campaign,” Fiji’s tourism minister said to the Fiji Broadcasting Station.
With this, Fiji Airways plans to resume its flights to Australia “before Christmas” of 2021. Prior to the pandemic, the airline flew direct from Nadi to Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. Their new flight schedules are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
“Our flight schedules will be released immediately following an official announcement by the Government which outlines border requirements and travel framework,”Fiji Airways CEO Andrew Viljoen said in a statement.
Australia and Fiji share a strong bilateral relationship. Around 3,000 Australians reside in Fiji and over 30,000 Fiji-born people live in Australia. Fiji is a popular tourist destination for Australians, with over 360,000 Australians visiting Fiji yearly.