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CNMI, Air Nauru to discuss flight service to Saipan
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Posted on Jun 04 1999
A meeting between Air Nauru officials and the CNMI officials has been temporarily scheduled next week to explore the possibility of providing a direct service between Saipan-Guam and Saipan-Manila.
“We will assist them in any way possible to make sure that this plan will push through,” said Carlos H. Salas, executive director, Commonwealth Ports Authority.
This is not the first time that Air Nauru has expressed interest in providing service to the CNMI. Representatives of the airline visited the CNMI two years ago exploring such possibility.
Palau Sen. Santos Olikong has asked Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio and key leaders of the CNMI Legislature to schedule a meeting so that they can immediately discuss the proposal of Air Nauru.
According to Olikong, chair of the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Governmental Affairs, Palau National Congress, the planned talks will be attended by officials of the Republic of Palau Corp. He expressed his interest to sit down with the CNMI leaders in a letter he sent to the governor, Senate President Paul A. Manglona and House Speaker Diego T. Benavente.
CNMI officials have been exploring ways on how they can discuss with leaders in the Micronesian region the possibility of setting up a regional airline amid the continuous reduction in service of Continental Micronesia. The issue will be discussed in the annual membership meeting of the Asia Pacific Island Legislators to be held in Guam next month.
Representatives of Palau, Nauru and Air Nauru Corp. met in Guam last April 8 to talk about ways on how to extend better and more affordable air passenger and cargo service among Micronesian nations especially in the light of Continental Micronesia’s current highly unaffordable tariffs.
During that meeting, the representative of the President of Nauru and the chairman of Air Nauru Corp. expressed strong interest in cooperating to achieve such objective.
