Tourism Solomons’ Congratulates Solomon Airlines, 60th Anniversary
TOURISM Solomons’ Board of Directors, Management and Staff congratulate Solomon Airlines on the occasion of its milestone 60th Anniversary.
To say the airline has come a long way since 1962 when Australian aviation pioneer Laurie Crowley first commenced a charter operation between Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands would be an understatement.
Nothing has stalled our national carrier in its aspirations to service the people of the Solomon Islands since those early days, the airline weathering many crises, both international and regional, both natural and man-made – not even a global pandemic could halt its progress.
Irrespective of the situation, Solomon Airlines has carried on unabated through thick and thin and continued to deliver on behalf of the country.
Today, our national carrier is firmly entrenched in place with great pride and held dear by all Solomon Islanders as it continues to carry our national flag far and wide overseas, its sleek Airbus A-320, a far cry from the six-seater Piper Aztec Laurie Crowlie used when he first commenced ferrying passengers on the airline’s fledgling route.
Solomon Airlines remains a constant, key factor in helping to cement the Solomon Islands in place as a vital regional business hub to the benefit of all Solomon Islanders.
As importantly, in partnership with Tourism Solomons, Solomon Airlines has played – and continues to play – a beyond vital role in helping the national tourist office in achieving its objectives of promoting the Solomon Islands on the international travel stage, an objective which saw more than 28,000 international visitors visit our shores before COVID-19 struck in late 2019.
Even during the pandemic, when our international borders continued to be closed for more than 800 days, Solomon Airlines continued its vital role in keeping trade and precious cargo links open between the country’s overseas partners.
The same can be said for Solomon Airlines’ vital domestic operation, a lifeline for the far-flung people of the archipelago, which the airline continued to operate unabated throughout the pandemic.
As an organisation, Tourism Solomons readily acknowledges the national carrier’s ongoing support and can attribute much of its success in recent years to an enduring partnership which has proven, and continues to prove, fruitful for both parties as together they strive to position tourism as one of the country’s prime sources of foreign exchange and prosperity.
Tourism Solomons looks forward to further building that relationship with Solomon Airlines to grow the vital tourism sector to the benefit of all Solomon Islanders.
Again, many congratulations to Solomon Airlines, a true success story and one which every single Solomon Islander can be extremely proud of.
