A charter flight between Nadi and Rarotonga, organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration (MFAI), has been praised by Fijians residing in the Cook Islands.

The special commercial flight operated by Fiji Airways will bring regional leaders to Rarotonga for the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in early November.

Last month, Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown, who is also the Pacific Islands Forum chair, discussed the possibility of a charter flight with Kiribati President Taneti Ma'amau on the margins of the Forum Foreign Ministers Meeting (FFMM) in Suva.

MFAI confirmed this week that seats are available to the general public for a direct flight to Fiji from Rarotonga on November 5 and a direct flight from Fiji to Rarotonga on November 11. Seats are selling for $700 one way.

Resort staff Ropate Dreu said it has been a long time since Fijians or anyone wanting to visit Fiji would get the opportunity to board a direct flight to Fiji and vice versa.

“As a Fijian, we have to go through a lot of paperwork before travelling and in case of an emergency like death, we have to wait for some time until our transit visa through Auckland, New Zealand is approved,” Dreu said.

“With this direct flight, we can get to our families in less than 24 hours. We save more days of our vacation and spend it with our loved ones rather than spending it on travelling.”

Arry Rokosalu, another Fijian residing in Rarotonga, concurred.

“It would be great if we have continuous flights like this in the near future,” Rokosalu said.

PM Brown earlier said that given the high cost of travel in the region after Covid-19, other Pacific delegations, especially from the Northern Pacific, can take advantage of this charter flight.

Many Pacific islanders have to transit through Auckland in order to travel to Cook Islands.

Those interested in securing a seat can contact MFAI at travelpiflm52@cookislands.gov.ck