Australians left stuck in Tuvalu after airport's runway damaged

Australians have been left stranded on the island of Funafuti, Tuvalu in Fiji after Fiji Airways cancelled all flights to and from the tiny Pacific Island national indefinitely due to damage to the airport's runway.
The airline is the only international carrier that services Tuvalu.

"Fiji Airways wishes to advise that all flights scheduled to operate between Suva or Nadi and Funafuti in Tuvalu have been suspended until further notice," the airline said in a statement.

"The airline has had to take this step-in light of runway damage at Funafuti International Airport."

The statement added:

  "We will continue to monitor the situation and are seeking information from the Tuvalu authorities on the effectiveness of the repairs currently underway."

A passenger from Adelaide, said his flight out on Thursday had been cancelled and then another was cancelled on Saturday. It is unclear how many Australians are stranded but with two flights cancelled so far there could be more than 140 travelers waiting to leave, he said.

He said he had been told extremely heavy rain had caused the damage to the airport runway.
"Heaviest ever, according to the locals, who said they had never experienced that amount of rain," he said.

He said there were concerns among traveler's they might not be home before Christmas.

One passenger said "I had surgery booked for this Tuesday, and unless I leave tomorrow, I'll not be in Australia for that surgery," he said.