Asia Pacific Airlines has challenged the Nauru Airlines application with the US Department of Transportation (DOT) to seek a foreign air carrier permit to run flights to the United States.
In May, Nauru Airlines filed its application with the DOT seeking to operate flights between Nauru and the United States territory of Guam and later Honolulu. The carrier plans to operate two weekly round-trip cargo flights and one weekly passenger flight between Guam and Nauru. The application comes after Asia Pacific Airlines was grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in February.
The FAA issued an Emergency Order of Suspension to Asia-Pacific Airlines because of pilot training issue.
With the grounding of Asia-Pacific airlines various Pacific Island nations were left without essential freight flights impacting economies and business.
Marshall Islands had to declare an emergency due to the shortage of mail, medicines and other essential services as Asia Pacific Airlines was the sole cargo provider for the country.
This led to talks between United Airlines and Nauru Airlines. Over the past few weeks, Nauru Airlines has operated multiple flights to assist with clearing up the backlog of mail and cargo due to the Asia Pacific grounding.
In Nauru Airlines' filing with the DOT, the airline said that each flight required separate approval and, instead, a permit would remove the need for such approvals to operate to the United States.
The FAA has since rescinded the grounding of Asia Pacific, and since May 5th, the carrier has resumed operations. Now the airline seeks to defend its original cargo routes across Pacific Islands.
Asia Pacific Airlines has also accused Nauru Airlines of breaking DOT and US Postal Service (USPS) laws by operating flights without proper authorization.