A group of Australian volunteers stranded on the island of Tanna following the collapse of Air Vanuatu last week have been offered a way to get home, and they'll be travelling in style.
The contingent of young volunteers from the Albury-based Hive Rotary Club were volunteering in the Pacific when Air Vanuatu collapsed.
The group has now managed to secure a charter flight from Tanna to Port Vila and will then board a P&O cruiseliner to Sydney after the shipping company reached out to them.
Hive president Kellie Kadoui said the group was "rapt" to have found a way home.
"Once we learnt that Air Vanuatu weren't flying, it's almost impossible to get off Tanna unless you charter a very expensive plane," she said.
"We finally got a charter flight out on Wednesday through Vanuatu Tourism, so they paid for that cost.
"And then P&O reached out to us and said, 'We are actually docking in Port Vila on the 17th. Can we take you home?'"
Twenty members of the group are expected to board the Pacific Adventure today and will arrive back in Sydney on May 23.
An expensive trip home
The volunteers heard the airline was in trouble after they flew into Port Vila on Sunday, May 5.
On Thursday, May 9, the airline announced that all of its international flights were cancelled.
The next day, Ernest & Young confirmed that it had been appointed as administrators for the airline, which has been supported by the Vanuatu government for some time.
The young volunteers were scheduled to fly with Air Vanuatu from Tanna to Port Vila on Saturday, May 18, and then take a connecting flight back to Australia.
But, Ms Kadaoui said, once the airline's flights were cancelled, the volunteers only had two options — either to wait for a boat that made two trips a week from Tanna to Port Vila, or pay for an expensive private charter flight that would cost $5,000 for the whole group.
It was a relief when Vanuatu Tourism and P&O came to their rescue.
Twenty-year-old Sarah Long, one of the volunteers on the trip, said the uncertainty had been "a little chaotic for a while" and that it was nice to know that they finally had a way to get home.
"We were sort of up in the air and unsure what was going on but I think we're all very thankful for P&O coming to the table," she said.
However, Ms Kadaoui said the group still faced out-of-pocket expenses totalling about $10,000 because their travel insurance would not cover extra expenses accrued during their unexpected stay in Port Vila, or the rescheduling costs of their domestic flights in Australia once the group arrives back in Sydney.
Airline in 'significant financial distress'
Ernst & Young have told creditors Air Vanuatu is in "significant financial distress".
A liquidators' report outlined the airline's debts, which total $110 million.
"The company's financial position is dire, and it clearly cannot fund its own operations," the report said.
Ernst & Young thanked Vanuatu's government for its financial support, without which they said there would be "no other choice" but to shut the airline down.
The report also revealed Air Vanuatu's staff doubled as essential ground operations personnel at several of the country's airports.
Only two of the airline's planes remain flight-ready, with a Boeing 747 repossessed, and three other aircraft needing maintenance.