The Ministry of Infrastructure and Public Utilities, with support from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management, is drafting a Council of Ministers paper seeking approval to begin talks with Fiji and to develop a Commercial Upper Airspace Management Policy.

“If approved, a taskforce of government agencies will lead the negotiations.”

Director of Civil Aviation Authority

Currently, revenue from Vanuatu’s upper airspace depends on the number of aircraft passing through and the condition of ground navigation facilities. Around 6,000–6,500 aircraft cross Vanuatu’s airspace each year. In 2017, Vanuatu received about 50 million vatu roughly 2.5% of total revenue while Fiji retained close to 92%.

Vanuatu lacks the infrastructure and human resources to manage its airspace independently, and the International Civil Aviation Organization does not support breaking up existing Flight Information Regions into smaller sections.

The Ministry says renegotiation will aim to increase Vanuatu’s share of airspace revenue and strengthen its role in management.