2.2 Marshall Islands (RMI) Aviation
Helicopter Operations Procedures for Foreign Registered Aircraft Air Charter Air Marshall Islands
Page 1 The Republic of the Marshall Islands Ports Authority (RMIPA) is responsible for the operations and maintenance of Amata Kabua/Marshall Islands International Airport (MAJ), located in the capitol of Majuro.
The airport is in compliance with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and work closely with the Federal Aviation Administration to meet all regulatory requirements.
International carriers such as Nauru Airlines, United Airlines operate weekly into Majuro from Nauru and from Guam via Kwajalein. Kwajalein Atoll is home to Bucholz International Airport which is operated by the US Army Garrison and is used as a transit point from Guam to Majuro by civilian carrier United Airlines. Apart from this it is not part of the civilian air service in RMI.
Kwajalein Base is restricted and its mission as missile defence precludes it from operation as a general USAir base. Communication and liaison with the base commander will be required to make a further determination.
Marshall Islands Aviation consists of a single Marshallese based domestic operator, Air Marshall Islands. and has no international airline. Amata Kabua Airport in Majuro is the only civilian international airport in RMI and is the base for Air Marshall Islands. AMI provides a weekly service to outer islands with biweekly services to Kwajalein/Ebeye. United airlines can be flown from Majuro to Kwajalein as part of its international route.
The Directorate of the Civil Aviation is the supervising authority for aircraft operations into and out of the Marshall Islands.
Helicopter Operations
With the continued increase in Tuna fishing Majuro Airport has become the RMI base for helicopters servicing the fishing fleet.
The helicopter are privately owned by Vertols System Ltd and are under contract to Tuna vessels as observation platforms. Helicopters are generally MB 500 with 400Km range capacity with a 900Kg payload. At the time of writing a new Maintenance Hanger was being constructed at Amata Kabua Airport. It is not clear whether these rotary winged aircraft would be available for contract in an emergency. See Aviation contact list for details
For more information on government agency and airport company contact information, please see the following links: 4.1 Government Contact List and 4 .5 Airport Companies Contact List.
Page 2 Procedures for Foreign Registered Aircraft
Aircraft certification and operational requirements are governed by the Directorate of Civil Aviation (DCA) and are specified in the Marshall Islands Civil Aviation Regulations (MICAR). Several chapters of the MICAR are applicable dependent on the aircraft type and the intended scope of operation. Operation of a foreign registered aircraft is possible.
The process should begin with a letter of intent to the DCA, describing your organization, the owner/operator of aircraft, intended type of operation (private, charter, scheduled, etc.) and intended aircraft model and/or type. The certification process can be lengthy (6 or more months) especial for a start-up, however if engaging an established operator to provide the flight service on your behalf and depending on the type of operation, it can be relatively quick to allow commencement of operations, particularly for non-commercial purposes such as for surveys, disaster relief, emergency response and similar programs.
Civil Aviation Directorate PO Box 1114 96960 Maguro MARSHALL ISLANDS
Air Charter
Air Marshall Islands has three aircraft available for charter in humanitarian response situations.
Air Marshall Islands
Aircraft No. Seats Charge/min Ground time/hour
Dornier 228 2 19 $50 $600
Dash 8 1 34 $100 $1,000
Tel.: +692 455 3330 Fax: +692 247 3888
Page 3