Hundreds of Australians have landed on home soil from earthquake-stricken Vanuatu as the capital’s airport prepares to reopen to commercial flights.
Further RAAF planes landed in Brisbane from Port Vila overnight on Sunday carrying 144 passengers.
In total, 568 holidaymakers, workers and other returnees have arrived back in Australia via military airlifts delivering humanitarian aid since Wednesday.
The latest flights followed Airports Vanuatu’s announcement it would reopen Port Vila International Airport to commercial airline operations on Sunday, offering some hope for increased aid and recovery resources.
The Australian government is working with Qantas, Virgin and Jetstar to resume flights to the Pacific nation.
Qantas and Virgin are both operating Port Vila-Brisbane services on Sunday and Jetstar is running a flight on the same route on Monday.
Two more final ADF flights from Vanuatu are planned for Sunday.
A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck Port Vila on Tuesday, killing at least 16 people, injuring at least 200 and causing massive damage to the city and surrounding areas.
The number of deaths and injuries is expected to rise as search and rescue operations continue.
A potential health crisis also looms as aid workers believe about 20,000 people on the island cannot access clean water.
Vanuatu-based UNICEF water, sanitation and hygiene specialist Brecht Mommen warned illness would likely spread.
The extent of damage to Port Vila’s water infrastructure remains unclear, with repair timelines uncertain.
The latest RAAF flights delivered 9.5 tonnes of emergency relief supplies on behalf of Red Cross, U.N. World Food Program, CARE, Save the Children and World Vision
About 1,000 people are estimated to have been displaced, according to the United Nations.