Previous Story
Air China cancels 5 charter flights from Beijing
|
Posted on Feb 07 2005
Air China canceled five Saipan-bound charter flights from Beijing after its tour operator had difficulty obtaining visitor entry permits for the passengers.
Frank Camacho, general manager of Pacific Oriental Inc., which arranges Air China flights to the CNMI, said the charter service was organized to bring in tourists to the CNMI for the Chinese New Year celebration.
The flights, serviced by the 200-seat Boeing 767 aircraft, were scheduled to arrive on Saipan on Feb. 5, 8, 11, 14, and 17.
They would have brought about 800 passengers to the islands, Camacho said. “The flights did not materialize due to some immigration issues, we’ve been told,” Camacho said.
The Saipan Tribune learned that Air China canceled the service after its tour company had a hard time obtaining visitor entry permits for the passengers.
Air China expressed disappointment that only two travel agencies—Century Travel and Saipan Travel—are currently allowed to issue VEPs to tourists from China.
The CNMI government put restrictions in place in an effort to ensure that only quality tourists are allowed entry to the Northern Marianas.
Air China said, however, that it hoped all tour operators could file VEP applications directly to the CNMI Division of Immigration “to avoid unfair competition.”
