Fiji Labour Party leader Mahendra Chaudhry believes the outgoing Fiji Airways chief executive Andre Viljoen and members of the company board must be held responsible for the scandal surrounding the unpaid $2million charter flight to Israel in September 2023.
In a statement, Mr Chaudhry claims the airline’s board had lied to the public for two years, dodging a full disclosure.
“Fiji Airways has finally admitted to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Affairs that bulk of the money has not been paid and it is now suing the travel agency, Pacific Voyager, for non-payment on the Israeli pilgrimage flight,” he said.
“It is unheard of for any reputable airline to agree to a ‘travel now pay later’ scheme. Taking the matter to court (FT 8 Sept) now is not likely to recover the owed fares and is simply another gimmick to mislead the Fijian people.
“Tourism Minister Viliame Gavoka’s name had been closely associated with the entire sordid affair and some top ranking people in Sodelpa and the People’s Alliance were on the charter flight and had not paid their fares.” Mr Gavoka in response said the deal was between the airline and the organisers of the trip.
“As I have said many times, this was a commercial arrangement, please try to understand what that means. We are not involved as a ministry on the terms they (the carrier and the charterer) agreed to operate the charter. It was based on what they agreed to as businesses.”
