Shaun Christian, SMA president, told Variety on Thursday that government agencies were still working out the required protocols.
In a statement, SMA said: “After consultation with, and at the request of various CNMI government agencies, we will be postponing the resumption of scheduled passenger flights. Our new target to start limited scheduled passenger operations is now May 22, 2020.”
But Christian said the announcement does not affect the current operations of cargo flights, medical patient transfers, and Covid-19 related support flights.
“We will be sure to provide updates as they become available,” he added.
Passengers with paid confirmed bookings between Rota and Saipan can contact SMA’s reservations office at 433-9996/9998 between 8 a.m. and 12 p.m. to arrange for a refund.
In a previous public notice, SMA said it applied for Air Carrier Workers Support under the federal CARES Act.
Christian stated that SMA received a favorable response from the U.S. Department of Treasury, which stated that to be eligible for the program, airlines must operate scheduled flights to destinations they served prior to March 1, 2020.
