Air Vanuatu (Port Vila) and the Vanuatu Islands have been slammed with a Category 5 Cyclone (hurricane) named Pam. The cyclone made a direct hit on the capital Port Vila. There is massive damage and possible deaths.

CNN: the cyclone hitting the islands.

Video Below: Early video of the damage in Port Vila:

Read the full report from stuff.co.nz: CLICK HERE

The Republic of Vanuatu is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago is located around 1,750 km east of Australia, 500 km north-east of New Caledonia, west of Fiji and south of the Solomon Islands.

 

The airline issued this short statement today:

As a result of destructive cyclonic activity all Vanuatu airports still remain closed for commercial aircraft. All Air Vanuatu flights have been cancelled until further notice.

Update: The airline has now issued this update:

Port Vila airport has reopened. Planned flights for Monday March 16 are: NF11 Sydney – Vila DEP 0600 ARR 0920| NF10 Vila-Sydney DEP 1120 ARR 1515| NF 01 Sydney – Vila DEP 1615 ARR 2000| NF20 Vila – Brisbane DEP 2200 ARR 2345| All Timings local time.

Check in 2 hours prior departure.

From Tuesday March 17 normal international flight schedules will resume commencing with NF 21 Brisbane/Santo/Port Vila.

VANUATU DOMESTIC FLIGHTS ARE SUSPENDED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.

Copyright Photo: John Adlard/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-8Q8 YJ-AVI (msn 30734) departs from Sydney.

Air Vanuatu aircraft slide show: 

Route Map:

Video: Air day in the life of Air Vanuatu before the massive storm: