USDOT approves Asia Pacific Airlines’ open skies request

By Andrew Curran

The United States Department of Transportation has approved an application by Aero Micronesia, trading as Asia Pacific Airlines, for an exemption under 49 U.S.C. § 40109 to operate cargo and mail services between the United States and all countries with which it has an open-skies agreement or have signed the Multilateral Agreement on the Liberalization of International Air Transport.

Guam-based Asia Pacific Airlines operates four B757-200 freighters between Guam (GUM) and Honolulu (HNL), Guam and Hong Kong (HKG), as well as across Micronesia and the western Pacific.

The department issued its approval in late March but only disclosed it publicly this week. In February, Aero South Pacific reported on the charter carrier’s application, which also includes any countries with which the United States may sign an air access agreement in the future.

The exemption authority came into effect on 25 March 2026 and runs through to 25 March 2028.

The department says the authority granted is consistent with the open-skies aviation agreements currently in place.

“We have decided to grant Asia Pacific Airlines the requested exemption authority to serve all open-skies partners; that is, foreign aviation partners with which the United States has entered into an open-skies agreement where that agreement is being applied,” the 25 March decision reads.

“We have also decided to grant Asia Pacific Airlines exemption authority to serve Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Cook Islands, New Zealand, Singapore, and Tonga, each a signatory to the Multilateral Agreement on the Liberalization of International Air Transportation.”

“We also grant the carrier blanket authority such that, when an additional foreign aviation partner enters into an open-skies agreement with the United States, and where that agreement is being applied, authority to serve that partner will automatically be included as part of the carrier’s exemption authority, without the need for further action by the department or the carrier,” the filing added.

Decision deferred on certificate of public convenience and necessity request

However, the department deferred a decision on a request for a certificate of public convenience and necessity under 49 U.S.C. § 41102 to provide the same services as specified in the 49 U.S.C. § 40109 exemption.

While no timeline has been set, the filing indicates that a certificate of public convenience and necessity is expected to be forthcoming.

“We will handle Asia Pacific Airlines’ request for certificate authority separately,” the filing noted.

You can read the Department of Transportation’s decision here.

Photo: Ivan Nishimura / HNL RareBirds.

Contact the writer: andrew@aerosouthpacific.com