Fiji

Tai's New Service

Noumeo-Wollis, via Fiji

r[E French Air Corporation, Transports Aeriens Inter continentaux (TAD opened its New Caledonia-Nadi-Wallis Island service on March 3, with a DC3 aircraft. The company made a survey flight over the route in December.

The provision of a direct con nection between Noumea and Fiji will arouse interest.

The service will operate at irregular intervals. The next flight is on May 5, followed by further flights on June 7, September 1 and November 3. The aircraft will depart on its return from Wallis two days after it leaves Noumea.

Noumea opinion is that, later, a DC4 may be used on the service. t The New Zealand Government is to join a survey into the cost of building airfields in Western Samoa and Rarotonga. The NZ Minister in Charge of Civil Aviation (Mr, T. P. Shand) said that the flying boat route from Fiji, through Western Samoa and the Cook Islands to Tahiti, was uneconomical, and could not continue indefinitely.

t The Education Department in New Caledonia is arranging an ex change of school children between New Caledonia and New Zealand for the holidays at the end of the year. It has appealed to residents to act as hosts to New Zealand school children, and in return these people will be eligible to send their own children to New Zealand.

t Last December, Captain Williams, of the Cook Islands < island trading vessel Melva, ported about 120 Islanders < Penrhyn to Manihiki, for shee ing. Only a few tons of shell brought up, however, and tf end of January about 50 o Penrhyn people were anxico return home.