Photo Credit: Jonathan Winarske
Due to the National Airports Corporations' ongoing rehabilitation work on the airport runway, air traffic into Madang will be disrupted.
The airport will be closed from July 23 until August 8, 2021, for renovation.
Runway restoration is presently in Stage 5 of the Method of Works Plan (MOWP) for Madang Aerodrome, according to NAC interim managing director Rex Kiponge, and is expected to be completed by July 22 depending on the weather.
According to him, the usable runway is 820 meters long on the western end and is adequate for Dash 8, ATR, and other smaller aircraft.
The construction of MOWP Stage 6 is set to begin on July 23, with a runway length of 680 meters.
“Unfortunately, this length is for viable operations by Dash 8 and ATR type aircraft and the Runway will be available for Twin Otter and smaller aircraft operations during this 3-week period. This is unavoidable. Work on MOWP stage 7 is planned to commence on August 14, 2021, and will take 3 weeks to complete. The runway length available will be 880 meters which will permit operations by Dash 8, ATR and smaller aircraft. The full runway of 1570m is planned to be available on 31 October 2021 for Fokker 100, F70 and smaller aircraft operations,” Mr Kiponge said.
As a result, Air Niugini's subsidiary, Link PNG, will help with all Dash-8 turboprop flights into Wewak and Madang.
In a statement released yesterday, the airline stated that owing to the decreased length of both runways, even these Dash-8 planes are limited in the number of people they can transport.
Due to the shorter runway, Air Niugini has also announced that all Dash-8 operations would be temporarily stopped between July 23 and August 13.
Meanwhile, Sir Peter Barter, acting chairman of the Madang Tourist Industry Association and President of the Madang Chamber of Commerce, said that the closure of the airport will have a far-reaching impact, including the possible closure of hotels and other businesses that rely on air transportation, based on consultations with respective members of the association.
“Air travel in PNG is not a luxury it is an essential means of communication, safe transport not only for people but also for cargo, medicine and in some cases, lives of people,” Sir Peter said.
Reference:
Post-Courier (8 July 2021). “Closure of Madang Airport Will Have Far Reaching Impact On Other Sectors”.
