Palau airline inaugurates Mla flight

In any of Palau’s typical beaches, there are more fish than people, enough of an incentive for diving enthusiasts or curious tourists to visit this island-nation two hours away by plane from Manila.

This is how Alan Seid, president of Palau Micronesia Air (PMA), introduced his country of 20,000 people to Manila during their inaugural flight Saturday.

Once part of the US Trust Territory, Palau became a full-blown Republic on Oct. 1, 1994, and its airline made Manila one of its first destinations "because it is the largest city closest to Palau."

"We view Manila as a gateway to Europe and the Asian region and the excellent quality of your medical care and facilities are simply invaluable to our operation here," Seid added.

Pristine beaches and lush forest would best describe the four islands that comprise Palau that is also home to 5,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFW).

Its capital, Koror, is 700 miles South of Manila, 700 miles west of Guam and about 1,700 miles from Tokyo.

PMA has signed a bilateral air agreement with the Philippines to accept visitors on a visa-free 30 day stay, extendable to 120 days.

"We are committed to making PMA an economic growth engine and a bridge to bring people of the region close together as a community and also introduce our unique culture and the beauty of our islands to the rest of the world," Seid said.

He said that his nation, once referred to as "Rock Islands" has attracted diving enthusiasts from all over the world since Palau’s Chuuk Lagoon has been recognized as having provided two of the top 10 dives in the world for over 25 years.

Visitors to Palau have access, via local airlines serving feeder routes to Yap, Guam, Saipan, Chuuk and Pohnpei, Passengers from Manila will be able to fly directly with twice weekly flights on a Boeing 737-300.