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CODE DATA HISTORY The airline was established in 1970 and started operations on 14 February 1970 with an experimental service between Nauru and Brisbane and later added regular schedules. It was corporatised in 1996 as the Nauru Air Corporation (NAC), enabling it to operate independently in a commercial marketplace, free from most government constraints. In 1998 it came under the regulatory control of the Civil Aviation Authority of Australia and is a select foreign carrier holding an Australian air operator's certificate. Air Nauru is wholly owned by the state. However, the island's chronic economic troubles have caused the airline to lose large amounts of money and to occasionally become insolvent. Its operations were suspended for brief periods in the late 1990s because of Australian concerns over the airworthiness and safety record of its jets. Airline offices and equipment were also frequently repossessed by the Australian government for Nauru's repeated defaults on foreign loans. Service is kept on a very loose schedule because the aircraft is often used for the transportation of government officials. Senior cabinet members and diplomats travel frequently to and from the country to visit international summits and other meetings. The airline has been in dispute with the Export-Import Bank Of The United States since 2002, and in December 2005 the High Court Of Australia upheld an earlier decision to allow the bank to seize Air Nauru's only aircraft, leaving Nauru and the island nation Kiribati without air services {Link without Title} . SERVICES Services are provided from Nauru to the following international scheduled destinations: Brisbane , Honiara , Majuro , Melbourne , Nadi , and Tarawa . Air Nauru also provided services on behalf of Norfolk Jet Express from Norfolk Island to Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney . However, Norfolk Jet Express went into voluntary liquidation on 4 June 2005 . After urgent discussions, Norfolk Island Administration secretary, Peter Maywald, announced on 7 June that Qantas and Air Nauru would jointly provide replacement services for at least 12 months. For the first week after liquidation, Alliance Airlines aircraft were used for services, following which it was planned that Qantas would operate the flights from 11 June using Air Nauru Boeing 737 aircraft chartered by the Norfolk Island Government (ref: Air International, July 2005). Air Nauru is currently only able to provide a limited network service. Air Nauru flights are being operated at the present time by Alliance Airlines of Australia using a Fokker F100 jet, and by Air Pacific of Fiji using a Boeing 737-700 jet. There is currently a weekend service from Brisbane through Honiara to Nauru and Tarawa and return being provided by Alliance Airlines, and a Thursday service from Nadi to Tarawa and return that is being provided by Air Pacific. FLEET Air Nauru had only one aircraft, a Boeing 737-400 (at July 2005) which went into service in 1998. The aircraft was seized by creditors in Melbourne Airport , Australia , on December 18 , 2005. In March 2006, the Taiwan government assisted Air Nauru with the purchase of a brand new Boeing 737, which is supposed to come into service in April 2006. No information, as of March 12, 2006 as been given about the new plane. EXTERNAL LINKS |
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