Evacuation and Export Flights
561 FIJIANS REPATRIATED, 1157 VISITORS EVACUATED AND 87,000 KILOGRAMS OF EXPORT FREIGHTED
Fiji Airways completed another round of evacuation and freight flights on Saturday.
In a statement, Fiji Airways chief executive officer and managing director Andre Viljoen said: “I’m extremely proud of the way our teams stepped up to repatriate citizens and transport essential supplies to and from Fiji.
“Many members of our team operated these flights knowing full well that they will go into mandatory quarantine upon their return to Fiji.
“From March 23rd to date, we evacuated 1157 visitors back to Australia, New Zealand, United States, Singapore, Japan and Samoa. “In that period, we have safely brought 561 Fijians home.
“We continue to work closely with respective Governments and Diplomatic Missions to schedule and operate more evacuation flights in the coming days.
“Since April 3rd, we have taken 87,951.8 kgs of exports from Fiji. “This is nearly 88 tonnes of produce like taro, kava, turmeric, herbs, as well as seafood, garments, mail and other items.
“Freight flights benefit the entire supply chain relying on exports. These include farmers, fisherfolk, factory workers, producers, exporters, consumers and Governments.
“This is why we fly – to help our people and our country.
“These flights would also not be possible without the support of a number of Government agencies. We acknowledge and appreciate the outstanding assistance from the Fijian Ministry of Health, Department of Civil Aviation,
Border Control, as well as the authorities at every airport we operated to.
Breakdown of these exports are as follows:
■Fresh Produce & Herbs: 52.2t
■Turmeric: 17.7t
■Seafood: 3.3t
■Kava: 6.6t
■ Consolidated items & chocolate: 8.1t.
Total exports carried between April 3 - 10: 87.9t kg
Source: Fiji Airways