By Pacific Island Times News Staff
Palikir, Pohnpei—The government of Australia is subsidizing biweekly flights on Nauru Airlines to help connect the North and South Pacific, said David Panuelo, president of the Federated States of Micronesia.
The inaugural Australia-North PacificConnector landed in Pohnpei on Oct. 16 11:45 p.m. and departed on Oct. 17 at 11:50 a.m.
The biweekly flights originate in Brisbane, Australia and travel to Nauru; Tarawa in Kiribati; Majuro in the Marshall Islands; and Pohnpei. Passengers wishing to travel to Fiji, or other South Pacific islands via Fiji, can depart from Nauru to Fiji on a separate flight.
Passengers on the inaugural flight included Asterio Appi, deputy minister of Foreign Affairs of Nauru; Reagan Aliklik, deputy minister for Information & Communication of Nauru; Geoff Bowmaker, vice chair of Nauru Airlines; and Robert Eoe, CEO of Nauru Airlines.
Prior to the Nauru delegation’s departure, Secretary Elieisar and Acting Secretary Thomas Kostka of the Department of Transportation, Communication, & Infrastructure met with Deputy Minister Appi to discuss various bilateral issues between the FSM and Nauru, and to acknowledge the significance of the return of Nauru Airlines to the FSM.