Hon Murray McCully
Minister of Foreign Affairs

10 August 2013

NZ updates Tonga travel advisory

Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully says the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) has posted an updated travel advisory in relation to Real Tonga airline now the recently acquired MA-60 aircraft is in service.

"The MA-60 has been the subject of serious concerns amongst aviation experts. It is not certified to fly in New Zealand and would not be allowed to do so without a thorough certification process under Civil Aviation rules. The MA-60 is not certified by comparable jurisdictions such as the European Aviation Safety Agency (EU), the Federal Aviation Administration (US) and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (AUS),” Mr McCully says.

“In the absence of an internationally respected certification process for Tongan conditions, it is the government’s obligation to draw the attention of the travelling public to these issues and our Tongan travel advisory has been updated accordingly.

“The New Zealand Government has put support for the Tongan tourism industry on hold, and we will not be spending taxpayer money promoting tourism in Tonga until we are satisfied with the safety and reliability of this new air service.

“We are in discussions with the Tongan Government on this issue. I reiterate my offer of support to Tonga to assist them in ensuring aviation safety, a critical component of tourism in the Pacific islands,” Mr McCully says.

MFAT’s updated travel advice on the MA-60:

Tonga’s domestic airline fleet currently includes an MA-60 aircraft. This aircraft has been involved in a significant number of accidents in the last few years. The MA-60 is not certified to fly in New Zealand or other comparable jurisdictions and would not be allowed to do so without a thorough certification process under Civil Aviation rules. Travellers utilising the MA-60 do so at their own risk.

ends

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