Kiribati has received the second Brazilian-built Embraer-190 aircraft promised by China in 2019 when the small Pacific country severed diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
The USD$55million dollar aircraft will touch down at Bonriki International Airport on Tarawa after a delivery flight from Sao Paolo in Brazil to Barbados, Miami, Honolulu, and Kiritimati.
Kiribati’s Transport Minister Alexander Teab and Embraer SA representative Ivan Alessandro signed documents earlier this week, transferring ownership of the aircraft to the Kiribati government.
The Embraer-190 is a twin-engine jet which can carry a maximum of 114 passengers over a distance of 2850 nautical miles, allowing it to operate direct flights from Kiribati to Auckland and Brisbane.
This service would be in direct competition with Fiji Airways and Nauru Airlines which currently operate these routes with stopovers at their operating bases at Nadi and Yaren.
However, Air Kiribati’s initial EMB-190 which was received in 2019 has never flown for the airline. Instead it was operated by Pionair, an Australian freight carrier, which no longer lists the aircraft in its fleet.
The COVID-19 outbreak was blamed for the failure of Air Kiribati to operate the aircraft immediately after it was received.
At the time, Air Kiribati proposed to operate its jets to the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands, predicting a boom for the tourism sector and increased capacity for i-Kiribati traveling to work under regional labour mobility programmes.
The Kiribati government acknowledged China’s support for the purchase of the aircraft, saying bilateral relations “strengthen the bonds of friendship and cooperation between our two nations. Kiribati expresses its deep appreciation for China’s commitment to our national development and aviation advancement’’.
Until 2019, Kiribati was one of five Pacific nations which gave full diplomatic recognition of Taiwan. After a deal was struck on the two aircraft, Kiribati severed its ties with Taiwan and Solomon Islands shifted its allegiance later the same year.
