Scenery of Solomon Islands Photo: VCG

The Solomon Islands national airline will reintroduce international flights to Australia, Vanuatu and Fiji from August along with connections to partner airlines from New Zealand, Asia and the US as the South Pacific island country reopens in gradual recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Solomon Airlines chief executive Brett Gebers said on Monday that the new international schedules would include flight times that enable same-day connections at least twice weekly to and from major international markets, such as the flight between Brisbane, capital of Australia's Queensland state, and the Solomon Islands' capital of Honiara.

Gebers said the resumption of flights would mean the "gradual recovery of inbound tourism, more opportunities for international air freight, and that our optimism about the future of air travel in our region has proved well-founded."

"The past two years and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic have been an incredibly long and testing journey, and we say 'tagio tumas' [traditional Melanesian Pidgin expression for welcoming visitors] to everyone who has supported us, for your patience and perseverance, especially our hardworking staff who made sacrifices."

"Our immediate priority now is to reestablish our core Pacific Islands network and ensure convenient connections from global markets especially New Zealand, Asia, the US and Europe via Brisbane and Fiji," said Gebers.

The Solomon Islands will reopen its international borders to fully COVID-19 vaccinated visitors on Friday, although mandatory quarantine requirements will continue, so overseas travelers will still need to stay in "tourism bubble" hotels in Honiara upon arrival.

Xinhua