The Government of Nauru says it has provided a USD1.68 million cash injection to Nauru Airlines (Nauru), primarily to help it fund redundancies for around 50 employees based at Brisbane International. The tiny, cash-strapped island nation has also itself received USD5 million to improve its infrastructure.
Although Nauru Airlines operates a fleet of four B737-300s through its Australian subsidiary Nauru Airlines (Australia) according to the ch-aviation fleets module, the company does not qualify for that country's government's JobKeeper scheme, which provides payments to stood-down staff during the Covid-19 lockdown.
The Nauru government revealed in a statement in May that 40% of the carrier's 132 Brisbane workers, who had been temporarily laid off since the end of March, were now likely to be made redundant. All 94 of the company's employees based in Nauru will continue on their full salaries, however.
Since March, Nauru Airlines has been providing fortnightly passenger flights from Brisbane, occasional repatriation missions, and cargo-only flights. Besides the four B737s, Nauru Airlines (Australia) also operates a B737-300(F).
Meanwhile, the Asian Development Bank has granted Nauru USD5 million "to improve its management of expenditure and infrastructure," it said in a statement on June 5. The grant will also be used "for the governance of state-owned enterprises."
The grant is being co-financed with New Zealand, which has provided USD323,000 in budget support. After years as a former tax haven and money laundering centre, Nauru's economy is dependent on foreign aid, chiefly from Australia, New Zealand, and Taiwan.
Nauru is now implementing "a comprehensive reform programme to help it sustain a responsible fiscal position and strengthen public services," the bank said.
