Overland from Nadi to Sydney
p. 19 · Read in the full issue
The patience of air travellers in the Pacific wore thin, when a union-im posed ban eliminated Australia and Fiji from the UTA-French Airlines route to Noumea, Papeete and Los Angeles. Just when that ban was lif ted air control and telecommuni cations technicians at Sydney airport staged a 30-day strike for higher pay, and forced most international flights into Australia to go to Melbourne.
The only way to Sydney then was by chartered train, road or one of the few interstate aircraft able to operate in fine weather. A serious
side-effect of the technicians’ strike was to cut off telex communications from Sydney with the outside world.
The Cook Islands National Arts Theatre, instead of being able to fly to Nadi and then to Sydney, had to go to Nadi, Auckland and Melbourne by air, and from Melbourne to Syd ney by train.
The Fiji unions boycott of UTA cost Fiji more than $42,000 in land ing fees at Nadi Airport. During the three months’ ban at least 30 DC 10s and about the same number of DCBs overflew Nadi.