A mob protesting a local election result in Mendi in central Papua New Guinea has invaded the town's airport and torched a Link PNG (Port Moresby) Dash 8-200 parked on the apron, Radio New Zealand has reported.

According to the report, the incident occurred after P2-ANX (msn 463) had arrived in Mendi following a flight from Port Moresby, operated by Link PNG on behalf of its parent Air Niugini (PX, Port Moresby). While no casualties were recorded in the incident, the 21-year-old turboprop suffered significant fire damage to its fuselage. Link PNG operates a further two Q200s.

The unrest was caused by a recent court ruling which upheld incumbent governor William Powi's victory in the 2017 local elections, despite accusations of rigging by the opposition.

With Mendi now closed to traffic, Air Niugini has announced that it has also suspended services to nearby Tari and Wapenamanda as a precaution pending an improvement in the security outlook.

Aside from the 2x weekly service to Port Moresby operated by Link PNG, Mendi only sees one more weekly scheduled flight to Port Moresby via Moro, operated by PNG Air.

In addition to the three Q200s, Link PNG also operates five Dash 8-300s, the ch-aviation fleets module shows.