Efforts to bring back flight service from Nauru Airlines to Guam after over 20 years are underway, as the governor’s office announced that a preliminary meeting has taken place.

The meeting comes after Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero initiated discussions with Maverick Eoe, deputy minister for Nauru Air Corp., and other Nauruan officials during the 26th Micronesian Islands Forum hosted by Guam last month.

“Keeping to our established goals at the MIF of increasing air transportation service to Guam and the Micronesian region, we are excited to continue discussions with Nauru Airlines in their pursuit of growing their offerings in our region,” said Leon Guerrero, who is the newly elected chair of the MIF.

The governor, along with Lt. Gov. Joshua Tenorio and management from A.B. Won Pat International Airport Authority, Guam, or GIAA, met with officials from the Nauru Air Corp. on Tuesday.

According to Adelup, discussion centered on the potential for air service by Nauru Airlines to Guam “as it once did in the 1990s and early 2000s.”

“Expanding air service options is a benefit to our people and can open up opportunities to diversify our tourism base, which can lead to increased economic growth, resiliency and competition,” said Leon Guerrero. 

“At the meeting yesterday, the Honorable Asterio Appi, minister for Nauru Air Corporation, and Mr. Geoff Bowmaker, chairman of Nauru Airlines, joined Deputy Minister Eoe for continued dialogue. During the MIF a resolution was passed by member nations agreeing to present a unified voice to the U.S. federal government to request their assistance to increase competition from airlines in this region of the Pacific,” the governor said in a press release.

According to the release, Nauru Airlines currently flies routes from Nauru to Brisbane, Australia, as well as Palau, Pohnpei, the Marshall Islands, Kiribati and Fiji.

“Discussions involved potentially expanding routes to include Guam and the possibility of direct flights from Guam to Brisbane. Guam’s strong position as a Micronesian hub means that increasing airline services could create a ripple effect, boosting connectivity and economic opportunities throughout the region as a whole,” the governor’s office said in the release.

The discussions are in its infancy but are “very important,” according to Tenorio.

“The governor and I believe that these are very important steps to see the viability of another airline like Nauru Airlines flying into Guam. A route linking Australia to Guam would help bolster our tourism industry and add another tourism market to our current visitor profile. Because of this great potential, not only did we have the Guam Airport officials with us, we have also asked the Guam Visitors Bureau to meet with these officials while they are still on Guam,” Tenorio said. 

Guam Visitors Bureau President Carl Gutierrez told The Guam Daily Post on Friday, “If, hopefully, Nauru finishes necessary regulatory formalities by the end of the year that a January launch of flights from Brisbane-Palau-Guam can materialize,” Gutierrez said.

Nauru Airlines presently operates seven 737-300 aircraft with about 125 seats each, according to Gutierrez.

“GVB will now also begin discussion with Nauru to collaborate including GIAA. GVB feels that to begin we should start with twice-weekly flights. This potential scheduled route will enhance our goal of partnering with Palau to make flights more sustainable – flying to Australia and farther west, i.e., Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia,” Gutierrez said.

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