News / Bitter airline battle over carrying US mail heats up in the Pacific

By Paul Spijkers - http://www.airliners.net/photo/Asia-Pacific-Airlines/Boeing-727-212-Adv(F)/0530066/L/, GFDL, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17198731

A bitter battle is heating up in the wilds of the Pacific between airlines wishing to carry US mail.

In March, Guam-based carrier Asia Pacific Airlines (APA) was grounded by the FAA, cutting off essential services and causing the Marshall Islands to declare a state of emergency.

As mail and medicines began to pile up in Honolulu and Guam, talks began with United Airlines and Nauru Airlines, the flag carrier of island republic Nauru, which then applied for a foreign air carrier ...