SOLOMON Airlines has advised yesterday that its Dash 8 is expected to be back in operation early next week.

The Airline’s New Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Brett Gerbers said he understands that the dash 8 was grounded for safety issues recently.

In an interview, Mr Gerbers, who formally took his office as of yesterday, said safety comes first in any airline.

“Safety comes first in any airline, if there is doubt about it we will ground the aircrafts to undergo servicing until such time we are satisfied with, because people’s lives are very important.

“The Dash 8 is still down at the moment but all other four aircrafts which include one islander and three twin otters are in operation as we speak,” Mr Gerbers said.

He said the issue is the safety of passengers, and there is no way the airlines will compromise safety.

“Our aircrafts must always be maintained to that level of safety at all times, with this issue, no matter what it is, we will rectify the problem,” he said.

“All aircrafts will from time to time experience certain magnetic issues, safety and compliance is paramount in the way we operate, we are not going to take any chances with the safety of our passengers,” said Bill Tyson, the airline’s human resource specialist.

He said the aircrafts will be grounded from time to time and they will always do their best to keep fights on operation.

“We expect the dash 8 back in operation by early next week,” Mr Tyson adds.