Taiwan has stepped in for the second time this year to help get the Air Marshall Islands (AMI) back in the air, spurred by the death of a baby who could not be evacuated for treatment, officials said.
Marshall Islands’ airline boasts just two aircraft, but both have been grounded with mechanical problems since October.
Last week, a baby died because she could not be evacuated by air from her remote island home to Majuro for a blood transfusion.
An 11-year-old girl from another remote island died in October while being transported by boat to the capital in the absence of the air service.
Ambassador Bruce Linghu (令狐榮達) gave a check for US$600,000 to Marshalls Foreign Minister Tony deBrum, bringing the total amount Taiwan has given the airline since January to US$1.6 million. Some of that has been used to buy parts.
The Marshall Islands is one of six Pacific island nations — and 23 countries that recognize Taiwan.
Linghu said Taiwan’s government acknowledged the importance of the airline for essential transport and health services.
Despite the Taiwanese aid, the airline is still waiting for parts to get the aircraft working again.
AMI general manager Dan Fitzpatrick said on Thursday that parts for one of the planes were due to arrive at the weekend and test flights were possible early next week.
The grounding of the airline has also crippled a tourist venture — taking divers to Bikini Atoll, where a fleet of unwanted World War II warships were sunk in 1946.
“We’re considering pulling the plug on the entire program if AMI can’t get its planes into operation soon,” Jack Niedenthal of Bikini Atoll Divers said.
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