15 May 2014

Palau hopeful for direct flights from PNG

2:36 pm on 15 May 2014

Palau is seeking direct flights from Papua New Guinea.

Palau is in Air Services Agreement negotiations with PNG as it gears up to host a number of important meetings this year including the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders' Summit meeting at the end of July.

As part of the negotiations, the Palau delegation has met representatives of Air Niugini and Nauru's Our Airline.

An assistant Press Secretary in Palau's Presidential office, Olkeriil Kazuo, told Islands Business he's hopeful the agreement would be signed soon.

The plan is for Palau-bound delegates to fly direct from Port Moresby to Koror.

The current path to Palau from PNG is a longer expensive hop to the north east transiting in either Japan, Guam or Hawaii.

Mr Kazuo says that since the end of the Guam-Fiji route by Continental Airlines, travelling to the South Pacific from Palau takes nearly two days.