Solomons - Solomon Airlines (IE, Honiara) has said it would base one DHC-6-300 at Munda in addition to one Dash 8-100 which has been earmarked to serve this city and Gizo. The positioning will take place over the Southern Hemisphere's winter season which runs from May 3 to October 24, 2020.

The airline said in a statement that it and the government are trying to develop Munda, an airport in the northern part of the archipelago, into a new hub for international tourism. Within this framework, Solomon Airlines plans to develop both regional and international routes from Munda.

Munda will also become the airline's secondary hub for passengers connecting between international routes and local services to other, smaller islands.

The Solomon Islands' flag carrier operated the first flight of its newly-added A320, H4-SIB (msn 2445), from Brisbane International to Munda on March 7, 2020. The narrowbody replaced another A320, H4-BUS (msn 302), which was retired by the airline in late January 2020.

Solomon Airlines operates four DHC-6-300s and one Dash 8-100. During the absence of in-house A320, the airline wet-leased B737-300 capacity from Nauru Airlines (Australia) (ON, Brisbane International), and Fokker 70 and Fokker 100 capacity from Alliance Airlines (QQ, Brisbane International).