15 Aug 2006

Nauru Our Airline considers range of services across Pacific

7:55 pm on 15 August 2006

Nauru's new airline, Our Airline, which is to be launched early next month, is considering services across the region.

Now called Our Airline, it replaces Air Nauru, which was forced onto a skeleton service after its single plane was impounded by the EXIM bank in the US in December last year.

With funding from Taiwan, Nauru has been able to buy a new plane and relaunch its services.

Our Airline will initially provide twice weekly services connecting Nauru with Australia, Kiribati and the Marshall Islands.

The Transport Minister, Dr Kieren Keke, says there are lots of possibilities for filling the gaps on the schedule, especially in other parts of Micronesia.

"To provide a link from the north that links better into the central Pacific and towards Australia and New Zealand. We have had approaches from the eastern Pacific in terms of the Cook Islands and the like, to provide better connections across to Australia. We have had approaches from Papua New Guinea in terms of filling some gaps they have into the Pacific."