US bans use of APNG

Source: The National, 27th October 2011 THE American Embassy in Papua New Guinea has banned all its staff and citizens from flying on Airlines PNG. In a message posted on its website last Thursday, the embassy said US citizens travelling to or living in Pa­pua New Guinea must not travel on the airline until further notice. It said embassy personnel could fly with Airlines PNG only with the approval of the US ambassador to PNG and only for the embassy’s essential business. It issued this directive following the airline’s recent plane crash on Oct 13 in Madang, when a Dash 8 crashed, killing 28 of the 32 people on board. The embassy said Airlines PNG had experien­ced two plane crashes in the recent past, resulting in 41 deaths. The embassy had encouraged Americans to maintain an updated profile in the Smart Traveller Enrolment Programme, or STEP, at the website: www.travel.state.gov.

Some of the 11 Airlines PNG Dash 8 aircraft now grounded at the Jackson Airport in Port Moresby.