Fiji Airways is taking legal action to recover unpaid funds from a commercial charter agreement involving flights to Israel in 2023, the airline’s CEO Andre Viljoen confirmed yesterday during a parliamentary committee hearing.
The issue was raised by member of the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs, Alipate Tuicolo, who queried the status of payments for charter flights operated in September and October 2023.
“Can you update the committee and the public on the outstanding money?” Mr Tuicolo asked during the session.
Responding, Mr Viljoen said the matter is now before the courts due to non-payment by the customer.
“Yes, this was a commercial arrangement, and unfortunately, the customer has not paid the bills. We are suing. The matter is currently in the courts,” he said.
“The customer that made the arrangement failed to pay the amounts due on time.”
“They were given a certain amount of leeway. They haven’t honored it, and so now the matter, we are suing them for recovery.”
No further details were provided about the identity of the customer or the total amount owed.
The charter flights took Fijians and Pacific Islanders to the Feast of the Tabernacle Tour 2023.