Melbourne to Vanuatu flights: Air Vanuatu launches non-stop flights from June 2019

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Melbourne to Vanuatu flights: Air Vanuatu launches non-stop flights from June 2019

By Craig Platt
Air Vanuatu will starting flying non-stop between Melbourne and Vanuatu from June.

Air Vanuatu will starting flying non-stop between Melbourne and Vanuatu from June.

Melburnians will be able to reach the islands of Vanuatu much quicker from June as Air Vanuatu resumes non-stop flights to the Pacific paradise.

From June 18, the airline will offer three flights per week between Melbourne and the Vanuatu capital, Port Vila, using a Boeing 737-800.

Previously passengers from Melbourne would have to join connecting flights through Sydney, Brisbane or Auckland to reach the islands. The new route will cut more than two hours from the travel time for Melbourne passengers.

Air Vanuatu's flight NF7 will depart Melbourne at 7am (local time) on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays arriving in Port Vila at 12.30pm (local time), with a flight time of just over 4 hours. The return flight NF8 will depart Port Vila at 16.15pm (local time) on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, arriving in Melbourne at 20.15pm (local time), with a flight time of just over 5 hours.

Air Vanuatu previously flew non-stop to Melbourne with a seasonal, once-a-week service which ceased in 2015.

Derek Nice, Air Vanuatu's Managing Director and CEO said the airline would codeshare with Qantas on the route, as it does with its other Australian flights, subject to regulatory and government approval.

Onward connections are available from Port Vila to 28 destinations across Vanuatu.

According to Australian Bureau of Statistics data, more than 60,000 Australians visited Vanuatu in the 12 months up to November 2018. Visitor numbers increased almost 20 per cent over the previous two years, following the devastation of the island by 2015's tropical cyclone Pam which saw tourism drop.

See also: The Pacific's unluckiest island? Not anymore

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