MAF’s launch team in Bougainville were already busy hiring staff, preparing airstrips and equipping remote health clinics with solar and Radio systems. The team planned to start flying operations in the coming months – but the arrival of a Category 5 cyclone changed everything…
Story by Matt Painter
“Just over two years ago, we were invited by the Bougainville government to look at whether we could start an aviation programme,” said Glenys Watson, MAF’s Flight Operations Manager in Papua New Guinea.
In early 2024, she and fellow pilot Brad Venter conducted a week of survey flying out of Buka, the main centre for the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.
“We were able to scope out meeting with community members and see if there was a need for an aviation programme to start up in Bougainville,” Glenys said. “From that survey trip MAF decided there was a need.”
MAF is no stranger to Bougainville, having served the region from 1966 to 1975, before handing the operation over to the government for continued services. But when civil war broke out, those services ceased, and since then the people of Bougainville have not had an effective replacement.
Jonathan Ainui, 33-years-old, is from Ieta village, in the North Bougainville district. He’s very pleased to see MAF coming and establishing itself again.
“We have heard about MAF and what it used to do,” he said. “We believe some very old airstrips were built by MAF.”
“We need MAF. We want MAF to come back and do what it did before, by flying the sick to hospital in Buka town, flying passengers to and from Buka, flying materials and medicines for the health centres, flying school supplies to remote island and atoll communities.”
Jonathan put his passion into action by joining the MAF team. He now serves as a member of the ground crew—and is keeping busy.
Setting up a safe, reliable and efficient aviation operation doesn’t happen overnight, so MAF have been slowly building a growing team on the ground in Buka, making preparations from securing land, to purchasing tools and training aviation staff on safety.
We need MAF. We want MAF to come back and do what it did before.
“We were planning to launch aviation operations later this year,” Glenys said.
But things don’t always go to plan. In April, she and the flight operations team suddenly got an urgent request for help.
“They let us know about the situation in Bougainville after Cyclone Maila hit,” Glenys said. “It disabled bridges and roads and washed them out. There was a real need for having an aviation operation there to assist with disaster support and relief efforts.”
“We were blessed to be able to respond rapidly,” said John Woodberry, the launch team director for MAF in Bougainville.
Using an aeroplane that was immediately dispatched from mainland Papua New Guinea, MAF’s cyclone response flights included an aerial survey of damage, medevac flights and transport of both emergency response teams and relief supplies.
“It was our privilege to help Bougainville in this time of difficulty,” John said. “And we look forward to continuing to serve here in the future. God has brought together people with the right gifts to help us serve and enable us to be a blessing to the people here.”
Local people, particularly those who remember MAF as ‘their own’ plane from days gone by, have been struck by the presence of MAF.
Reverend Abraham Toroi, Bishop Emeritus of the United Church in Bougainville, relayed their reactions, saying, “People are asking, ‘Hey, is that another aeroplane here?’ They say, ‘Balus bilong mipela (our aeroplane) has come back!’”
