Charter group eyes Palau, airline suspends Palau flights

ZETCAB or JetCap, a chartered aircraft relay and sharing platform company in Korea, announced it will launch flights to Palau.

Its first “personal private jet experience trip” to Palau saw it fly on April 12 from Gimpo in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea to Palau. Gimpo borders Incheon.

Starting in May, JetCap plans to expand tour packages for private jets in the South Pacific to resorts without direct flights to Palau, such as Solomon Islands, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and New Caledonia in the South Pacific, it said. The MK newspaper first carried the story.

JetCap announced on April 16 its group met with Ngiraibelas Tmetuchl, minister of Human Resources, Culture, Tourism and Development, and the director of the Paul International Airport on April 12 regarding the personal plane Palau Experience Travel Project.

At the meeting, the two sides decided to promote Palau personal plane experience travel products around the world, open a dedicated window under permission to operate private planes, and cooperate in developing South Pacific travel products, JetCap said.

Air Niugini has advised customers that the airline’s weekly services from Brisbane to Palau via Port Moresby will be suspended, effective May 1.

In an April 15 release, the airline said, “This service commenced in February 2023 supported by the Australian government under their Pacific Flights Programme.

“The decision to suspend this service is regrettable, but appropriate. The passenger and freight growth unfortunately did not meet original expectations.”

Air Niugini said it was grateful for the chance to participate in the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade initiative. “Air Niugini also thanks the tourism operators for their support over the last 13 months of operating this service and looks forward to opportunities to participate in future programs,” the airline said.