Royal Tongan Airlines

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Royal Tongan Airlines was the national airline of Tonga until liquidation in 2004. It was a government agency and operated interisland services and international routes. Royal Tongan Airlines domestic services were soon replaced by Peau Vava'u.^{[citation needed]}

Contents 1 Former code data 2 History 3 Destinations 4 Fleet 5 External links 6 References

[edit] Former code data

• IATA Code: WR
• ICAO Code: HRH
• Callsign: Tonga Royal ^[1]

[edit] History

Royal Tongan Airlines traces its origins back to 1985, when the kingdom bought a small fleet of aircraft and opened interisland air routes. It was formerly known as Friendly Islands Airways and became Royal Tongan Airlines in May 1991. International services began in July 1991. It suspended international operations on 23 April 2004 and suspended regional flights in May 2004 ^[2]. The national airline closed after the carrier ran out of cash for repairs. This followed a mechanical failure which grounded Royal Tongan Airlines last remaining aircraft in May 2004. It had been facing an uncertain future since April 2004, when its only aircraft serving international routes was repossessed ^[3].

[edit] Destinations

The airline operated the following services^{[citation needed]} :

• Domestic destinations:linking Tongatapu with 'Eua, Ha'apai, Vava'u and Niuas,
• International destinations: Honolulu, Hawai'i, United States; Sydney, Australia; Auckland, New Zealand; Nadi, Fiji; and Niue.

[edit] Fleet

Royal Tongan Airlines operated a Boeing 757 on its international routes^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] External links

• Royal Tongan website accessed 18 July 2005, looks like the old website from the airline, partially maintained to retain historical information.
• Passenger Opinions

[edit] References

1. ^ Airline Codes retrieved 24 December 2006
2. ^ Flight International 12-18 April 2005
3. ^ BBC News 21 May 2004