Air NZ flies over Fiji

11:30 AM

An Air New Zealand flight scheduled to land in Fiji this morning flew over the country, the third flight affected by recent unrest.

The flight, from Auckland to Honolulu, was due to stop off at Nadi but instead flew direct to Honolulu.

Two flights between Los Angeles and Auckland that normally stop at Nadi overflew Fiji yesterday.

The airline had continued to fly into Fiji after other major airlines pulled out of the country. It now says flights are being assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Yesterday, two New Zealand pilots working for Air Fiji were taken hostage by rebels supporting coup leader George Speight.

The Fiji military confirmed this morning that James Henry and Maurice Parsons have been released from the small village of Naibalebale on Fiji's second largest island, Vanua Levu.

Military spokesman Major Howard Politini says the men were freed following the intervention of the village chief.

Maurice Parsons and James Henry are reportedly in good health.

The rebel leader Speight remains in captivity, following his arrest at a military checkpoint on Wednesday. He is being held at military barracks near Suva.

Another 300 rebels are also under arrest, following a crackdown by the military in the last two days.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Wellington has updated its travel advisory for Fiji, noting the kidnapping of the two New Zealand pilots.

It continues to advise New Zealanders not to travel to Fiji, and says New Zealanders in Fiji should be prepared to leave by their own means.

New Zealand's Acting High Commissioner in Fiji, Nick Kiddle, says the situation in Vanua Levu is grim, with armed gangs taking the law into their own hands.

Two hundred ethnic Indian men were taken hostage by armed rebels overnight in the town of Labasa on Vanua Levu. They have since been released.

The managing director of independent radio station FM96, William Parkinson, says there was nothing nasty about the hostage-taking.

He says the men were simply rounded up and told they were quite safe and there would not be any trouble.

Mr Parkinson says the streets of Suva remained quiet overnight.