Heavy thunderstorms and intense lightning experienced in Nadi on Saturday night turned off the runway edge lights forcing flights to divert to Nausori International Airport and Faleolo International Airport in Apia, Samoa.
In a statement Fiji Airports said this procedure was taken as a precautionary safety measure in line with international aviation safety standards.
“The lightning strike is believed to have occurred between 2pm and 3pm,” the company said.
“The issue was later identified during a routine start of night inspection at approximately 7.15pm. Fiji Airports’ technical response team acted swiftly, and full functionality of the runway lighting system was restored by 8.30pm.
“As a precautionary safety measure, a number of inbound flights had to be diverted in line with international aviation safety standards.”
Meanwhile, Fiji Airways said they were actively working to recover affected operations after several flights were delayed, diverted or cancelled.
It said a number of aircraft and flight crews remained at diversion airports.
“While the lighting has now been restored, a number of aircraft and crews are currently out of position and our teams are working to reposition both aircraft and crew to resume scheduled services as quickly and safely as possible,” the airline said.
Fiji Airways added that their teams were in direct contact with all affected passengers to confirm updated travel arrangements.
Four Fiji Airways flights were diverted to:
- FJ 950, FJ 960 and FJ274 diverted to Nausori International Airport
- FJ 910 diverted to Faleolo International Airport in Samoa
Additionally, two departing fights had also faced disruptions as follows:
- FJ 413 (initially scheduled to depart at 2000hrs but departed at 20.45
- FJ 915 got cancelled due to the curfew in Sydney.
