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PMA no landing rights yet on Guam, Saipan
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Posted on Jul 27 2004
Palau Micronesia Air, Inc. has yet to obtain landing rights at U.S. airports, particularly on Guam and Saipan, even as it plans to immediately service the two islands when the airline company begins passenger service by August.
This has prompted the Association of Pacific Island Legislatures to step into the issue to assist the airline company’s bid to obtain landing rights. Pacific island lawmakers view Palau Micronesia’s air service as enhancing air travel and tourism in the western Pacific.
The group adopted a resolution asking the U.S. Transportation Security Administration to relax its policy requiring transit passengers within the region to exit the aircraft, even if the passengers would be boarding the same plane again to their final destination.
The APIL also said it would look into the reason why Palau Micronesia Air has not been granted landing rights at U.S. airports, particularly on Guam and Saipan.
“Palau Micronesia Air, Inc. is expected to provide crucial air transportation services throughout Micronesia, but will not be able to effectively provide that service without landing rights on Guam and Saipan,” the APIL said.
Meanwhile, the APIL asked the TSA to review the “exit the plane at every island stop” requirement and abolish it.
APIL, an association of lawmakers from 12 Pacific governments, said smaller islands other than Guam have been financially burdened in complying with the TSA requirement.
“The current requirements have been burdensome to the majority of the smaller islands with limited or no facilities to house in-transit passengers for the brief stopovers,” states a resolution recently adopted by APIL.
Affected islands have been incurring overtime costs for airport employees. They also had to hire new employees, the association said.
“Employees of Continental Airlines, which flies the relevant island routes, have lost allowable in-flight hours because of the TSA’s ‘exit the plane at every island stop’ requirement,” states the resolution.
Besides lawmakers from Guam and the CNMI, the association is composed of legislators from 10 other Pacific jurisdictions, including American Samoa, Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei, Yap, Marshall Islands, Palau, Hawaii, Nauru and Kiribati.
