They’re completely on their own

Nauru's acting Secretary for Island Development, Kinza Clodumar, has denied the suggestion in PIM in April that Ansett might be involved in the affairs of Air Nauru. “The only connection we have with Ansett is that we pay them to service our aircraft,” he said. And the reason for that is that Ansett had experience of the Fokker F2B which Air Nauru operates, and were thus best able to provide the technical services that Air Nauru wanted. There is absolutely no Ansett money in Air Nauru —the plane is entirely owned by Nauru, PIM has been assured.

The present crews for the F2B were supplied by Airlines of New South Wales on loan, and would shortly be replaced by Air Nauru’s own employees, who were undergoing the final phase of non-commercial flight experience necessary for operating on an airline schedule.

Nauru was still unhappy about the delay in granting a full licence by Australia’s Department of Civil Aviation for the Melbourne-Nauru service by Air Nauru. Weekly flights are still operated on the basis of a special individual permit for each flight.

Reasons for delay in granting the full licence were of two kinds, apparently. There was the matter of the airstrip in Nauru, which has been much improved, with the sealing of its surface now nearing completion. There is a new terminal building and an aircraft parking apron. The problem was a DCA requirement that 200 coconut trees be removed from the surrounding area of the strip. In most Island countries this would raise no difficulty, but Nauru has so little land at all, and the coconut tree is so valued by its people, that the destruction of just one tree is not undertaken without it being given serious consideration.

Compromise is hoped for with DCA officials on the matter.

The other, and probably more intractable problem was the matter of traffic rights en route. Nauru’s arrangement with the French authorities for landing rights in Noumea do not confer upon Air Nauru any right to carry passengers between Noumea and Australia, only between Noumea and Nauru. The golden rule in airline negotiations is that nobody trades a right unless something equally valuable is given in return, and it would have to be benevolence, not trade, for Australia to cede Nauru a share of the traffic to Noumea.