Air Niugini (PX, Port Moresby) has terminated its Chuuk-Tokyo Narita service following a crash landing of one of its B737-800s at the Micronesian airport on September 28, 2018, ch-aviation schedule analysis has revealed.
The flag carrier of Papua New Guinea launched the sole intercontinental route out of Truk on September 1, 2018, and operated it 2x weekly. Air Niugini also upgauged equipment on its Port Moresby-Truk-Pohnpei sector to a Boeing narrowbody.
However, the ch-aviation schedules module shows that the carrier has now returned to operating its weekly rotation to Pohnpei via Truk with a Fokker 70. Air Niugini continues to serve Tokyo directly from Port Moresby, operating weekly with B737-800 equipment.
It is unclear if the adjustments bear any direct relation to the crash landing on September 28, when Air Niugini's B737-800 P2-PXE (msn 33024) landed short of the runway in a lagoon. Out of 47 persons on board, only one died, although the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
According to the ch-aviation fleets module, Air Niugini has only two more narrowbody jets, one B737-700 and one -800. It also operates two B767-300(ER)s, seven Fokker 100s, and nine Fokker 70s.
