- Royal Tongan Airlines
Infobox Airline
airline = Royal Tongan Airlines
image_size = 250
IATA = WR
ICAO = HRH
callsign = TONGA ROYAL
founded =1985
commenced =
ceased =2004
hubs = FuaOkinaamotu International Airport
secondary_hubs =
focus_cities =
frequent_flyer =
lounge =
alliance =
subsidiaries =
fleet_size =
destinations =
parent =
company_slogan =
headquarters = NukuOkinaalofa,Tonga
key_people =
website =Royal Tongan Airlines was the national
airline ofTonga until liquidation in2004 . It was a government agency and operated interisland services and international routes. Royal Tongan Airlines domestic services were soon replaced byPeau Vavaʻu . Fact|date=February 2007History
Royal Tongan Airlines traces its origins back to
1985 , when the kingdom bought a small fleet of aircraft and opened interisland air routes. It was formerly known as Friendly Islands Airways and became Royal Tongan Airlines in May1991 . International services began in July 1991. It suspended international operations on23 April 2004 and suspended regional flights in May 2004 [Flight International 12-18 April 2005] . The national airline closed after the carrier ran out of cash for repairs. This followed a mechanical failure which grounded Royal Tongan Airlines last remaining aircraft in May 2004. It had been facing an uncertain future since April 2004, when its only aircraft serving international routes was repossessed [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3734979.stm BBC News] 21 May 2004] .Destinations
The airline operated the following services Fact|date=February 2007 :
*Domestic destinations:linking NukuOkinaalofa with
'Eua ,Ha'apai ,Vava'u andNiuas ,
*International destinations: Honolulu, Hawai'i,United States ; Sydney,Australia ; Auckland,New Zealand ;Nadi ,Fiji ; andNiue .Fleet
Royal Tongan Airlines operated a
Boeing 757 on its international routes Fact|date=February 2007.External links
*wayback|http://www.flyroyaltongan.com|Royal Tongan Airlines official website - pre 2002
*wayback|http://www.royaltonganairlines.com|Royal Tongan Airlines official website - post 2002
* [http://www.tongatapu.net.to/tonga/islands/royalt/default.htm former Royal Tongan website] accessed18 July 2005 - maintained to retain historical information.References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.