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Air Nauru gets replacement aircraft
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Posted on Mar 23 2006
The government of Nauru has secured a replacement Boeing 737 aircraft for its national airline, Air Nauru.
In a recent statement, Minister for Transport Dr. Kieren Keke MP said, “I am very pleased that we have now secured this aircraft. Nauru is particularly grateful for the assistance and foresight of [Taiwan] in helping us achieve this important milestone.”
Nauru’s sole aircraft, which provided a vital air service link from Australia and Fiji to Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, the Solomon Islands and Norfolk Island, was repossessed in December 2005 following several years of litigation with the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Eximbank).
“Whilst our initial approach was to re-purchase our previous aircraft, the general bid process that Eximbank initiated to offload the aircraft is outside our timeline. Our emphasis therefore shifted to finding another suitable aircraft to ensure that Air Nauru can quickly re-establish normal travel services to our market,” the minister said.
The Chief Executive of Air Nauru, Geoff Bowmaker, said that “since the plane’s repossession, Air Nauru and the Government of Nauru have remained committed to continuing air services to Nauru and its island neighbours, despite the extraordinary costs that have been incurred as a result.”
“We have been able to arrange charter flights operated by Alliance Airlines and Air Pacific which have provided a service to most of our network. These charters will continue until the new aircraft goes into service which is expected to be in April, at which time we shall be able to resume our full network schedule of services,” said Bowmaker. (PR)
