05/05/2026
MAJURO, MARSHALL ISLANDS - May 4, 2026 - Kōjeraaṃṃan eo an First Cessna SkyCourier 408
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Jipiij eo an President H.E. Hilda C. Heine
Ikijjien Itok im Kōjeraaṃṃan eo an
First Cessna SkyCourier 408
Amata Kabua International Airport, Mājro
Māe 4, 2026
● Ṃokta jān aō bōk koṇaō ilo jibboñin rainin, ikōṇaan kobaḷọk ilo naan in jar eo an rūkaki in jemād im leḷọk nebar im kaṃṃoolol ñan Jemād ilañ kōn rainin. Juon kile ejenolok nan Rev. Lemari eo ear boktok jar in kojeraman eo ad jibbonin.
● Kile ritōl ro ad ilo ṃanit - Chairman im Vice Chairman eo, im Irooj, Lerooj, im Owner eo ilo Iṃweo iṃōn Irooj. Juon special kile nan Lerooj Anke Laelang im Alap ro aer bwidej in.
● Kile Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice-Speaker, Cabinet Minister ro, Senator ro kajjojo, im ro karejerami;
● Kile Chaplain in an Nitijeḷā, ekoba aolep Rūkaki im Kōrā in Rūkaki ro jined ilo kabuñ ko ad kajjojo;
● Kile Chief Justice eo im aolep judge ro ad ilo Iṃōn Ekajet ko ad ilo peḷaak ko aolep ilo Aelōñ Kein;
● Kile Mayor eo ad ilo Mājro in, Opija ro an MIMA, im mayor ro ad kajjojo ilo jukjukin pād ko ad ipeḷaakin aelōñ kein;
● Kile Chief Secretary eo, Chairman eo im ro ṃōttan ilo Public Service Commission eo, im aolep ro rej jeban ra ko im SOE ko, ekoba aolep ri-jerbal ro aolep an Kien in ad;
● Kile rein ṃōttad jān Diplomatic Corp eo jān Japan, United States, Taiwan, im Australia;
● Juon kile ejenoḷọk ñan Board of Director eo, Management, im aolep ri-jerbal in Air Marshall Islands; im barāinwōt ro ṃōttaer ilo Aviation Taskforce eo;
● Āliktata im ejab diktata, kile aolep rein rōkar koba tok ñan witness e iien in eḷap an aorōk im ejenoḷọk ilo bwebwenato. Juon kile ejenolok nan aolep rijikuul rein rar maron kobatok iped ilo jibbonin rainin.
Rainin jej k*ktok ijin ilo Amata Kabua International Airport, ñan ad keememejtok tōre ko ṃokta im reiṃaanḷọk wōt ñan ilju im jekḷaj eo ad. Itok in an baḷuun in waad, Cessna SkyCourier in, ejjab baj juon iien kōjeraaṃṃan wōt; ak ej juon iien kakūrṃool juon iaan kalliṃur ko an kien in ad, eo eaar kōṃṃan elōñḷọk jān eñoul iiō ko remootḷọk, ilo tōre eo Republic in ad ej jibbakidkid wōt ilo metoḷapḷap in eo ej kakobaik kōj āinwōt juon douluul in armej.
Jejjo raan ko remootḷọk, jaar keememe 47 iiō dettan Jemānāe in an Aelōñ Kein, iaar reilikḷọk im ememḷọkjeṇ kōn jenok ko an rūtto ro ad āinwōt jet rijuunmeto ro rōkapeeltata ilo bwebwenato ko an laḷ in. Rōkōn kōjerbal wōt jidaakin iju, buñin ñōl in ṇo, im kapeel ko an rūtto ro rōkar baj pād wōt ṃokta jān an itok kein ejjerakrōk ko raan kein. Rūtto ro ad raar katakin kōj bwe metoḷapḷap in ad ejjab kōjepel kōj, ak ej kakobaik kōj. Ilo rainin, jej kōjeraaṃṃane baḷuun in waad ekāāl, jej wōnṃaanḷọk wōt ilo ad kautiej jenok ko ad ilo kapeel in ṃakūtkūt ioon dān im ioon mejatoto jiṃor. Jej kōṃṃane wāween in kōn kapeel ko ilo raan kein, kōn ejja un in wōt: bwe jen ekkejel ilo juon wōt bujen kōttōpar, im bwe en ejjeḷọk juon jukjukin pād an ri-Ṃajeḷ en ḷe ilikin ṃwieo in.
Ñe imaroñ bōklikḷọk kōj ñan 1980 jiṃa ko ilo iien eo baḷuun eo jinointata eaar ḷāwōdetok Aelōñ Kein.
Ilo ad ememejtok, juon eo ej ba “Wāween eo eaar waḷọk ilo airport eo im ipeḷaakin aelōñ kein, eaar juon menin utiej bōro ñan aolepān Ri-Aelōñ Kein.” Ke baḷuun eo ṃoktata waan Ṃajeḷ in (tokālik eaar ṇa etan Air Marshall Islands) eaar jino ekkāke ilo 1980 eo, armej ro raar k*ktok ioon Mājro im ipeḷaakin āne ko jet. Aolep ri-bukwōn ko ilo kajjojo aelōñ raar pād ilo jikin jok im kālọk eo an baḷuun eo. Ajri ro raar eṃṃōṇōṇō. Rūtto ro ad raar dānnin kōmjaaḷaḷ kōn būruon laudiñdiñ. Elōñ armej ilo tōre eo, ej kab ṃaanjein an wōr waad baḷuun im enaaj kōṃōkajḷọk kūtien ejjerakrōk jān juon wiik ilo tiṃa ñan juon awa in ekkāke ilo baḷuun.
Baḷuun ko kar ṃoktaḷọk, rej Nomad, Hawker Siddeley 748, Dornier 228 ko, im eo tokālik ej DC‑8‑62 Combi, rōkar jab baḷuun bajjek. Raar jet wa ko im eaetok kūtien ad kar kōjerbali. Rōkōn bōkto bōktak ṃweiuk ko, āinwōt mail, uno, im bajinjea āinwōt rūkaki ro, rūtto ro, im barāinwōt ek ko ñan wia kaki ipeḷaakin laḷ in. Raar ṇa iaḷad jān Mājro ḷọk ñan aelōñ ko rōttoḷọktata ilo Aelōñ Kein, ilo aer kar kadikḷọk kūtien ad ito itak jān jet raan ilọjet ilo tiṃa ñan jet awa imejatoto ilo baḷuun. Baḷuun kein āinwōt HS‑748 eo im DC‑8 eo, raar kaaetokḷọk iaḷan ad ito itak jān Aelōñ Kein ñan laḷ ko āinwōt Kiribati, Tuvalu, Fiji, im Hawai'i.
Baḷuun kein raar ukōtḷọk jān ad make iaad ñan ad pād im kobaḷọk ippān elōñ armej. Raar ukotḷọk wāween ṃakūtkūt ioon meto ñan ṃakūtkūt ilo mejatoto. Raar kōṃṃan bwe juon jibū ak bubu ilo Epoon, en maroñ tōpar Mājro iuṃwin jet wōt awa, im bwe juon rijikuuḷ ilo Wōjjā en maroñ in rọọl ilo iien kakkije ko, im wāween ko reidiñ ikijjien nañinmej bwe ren maroñ bōk jikier ilo iien eo eṃōkaj ñan lomooren rinañinmej ro bwe ren maroñ in tōpar jikin taktō ko rōṃṃanḷọk. Wāween kein rōkōṃṃan bwe en kaduḷọk kōtaan meto in im keepaaktok aelōñ kein ñan doon, eḷapḷọk jān ṃokta. Eaar jab jide bwe en itok baḷuun kein. Rōkar jet tōprak in loeṃṃan ko reperan im jerbal in kijejeto an ro ṃoktaḷọk, im kōn tōmak eo ej kwaḷọk kōn juon laḷ eo ekkeke im ej kien e make bwe en maroñ in tōpar armej ro an make im kobaḷọk ippān laḷ in kōn menin aikuj ko an make.
Jej kautiej President Amata Kabua im ro kar uwaan Nitijeḷā eo jinointata, bwe rōkar jeḷā ke Aelōñ Kein ad eban kar erom juon laḷ ñe meto in en kar kōjepel kōj. Raar tōmak ke ilo ad kiene kōj make, ej aikuj in wōr waad baḷuun. Ilo tōre ko ekar lōñ men ko reppen raar iiooni, āinwōt menin kabbweerer ko, oṇāān ko, im ilo ad ettoḷọk jān doon, ak raar jab jenliktak jān ḷañier. Peran eo aer eaar kalōk jikin jok im kālọk kein repād ilo iaḷan mour kein ad tok ñan rainin. Ilo ad kōjeraaṃṃan baḷuun kāāl in waad, jej kakūrṃool ettōṇak ko ṃokta jān jinoin.
Jej barāinwōt kautiej ro raar jino jerbal ilo airline in ad im raar kōjparoki baḷuun ko waad bwe en eṃṃan aer ekkāke jān raan ñan raan kōnke raar āinwōt menin jeraaṃṃan ñan Aelōñ Kein iuṃwin elōñ iiō. Raar dibuk ḷañ ko, jok ioon jikin jok ko enana pikier, im bōktok kōjatdikdik ñan jukjukin pād ko rōttoḷọk jān jikin kwelọk in. Jej barāinwōt kautiej pilot im engineer ro, kōn wōt kijejeto im kapeel ko ippāer, raar tiljek ilo aer kōjparoki baḷuun ko waad bwe en maroñ aetok aer pād, āinwōt ke rej iaḷan mour ñan Aelōñ Kein ad. Kōmij kaṃṃoolol koṃ jān tuṃwilaḷ in būruom kōn jerbal ko ami rōṃṃan.
Iuṃwin elōñ iiō ko, baḷuun kein remootḷọk jān tōreān aer jerbal, im ekōṃṃan bwe en ḷapḷọk an pen ñan dāpiji wōt ñan aer maroñ ekkāke. Im iuṃwin iiō lōñlōñ ko, jān wōt jālōke in, armej raar ṇa etan wa kein, ‘Air Maybe,’ ak administration in eaar jab errā ilo jālōke eo an āt in ñan armej ro ad.
Rainin, ilo itaaktok in an Cessna SkyCourier eo iṃaantata, jej ijjino kiiō kōn juon jebta kāāl im enaaj pedped wōt ioon ṃakūtkūt, tokjān, im en jab naan in perper ko. Ilowaan baḷuun in, ewōr 19 jea ko, im eḷapḷọk jikin ṃweiuk ie, baḷuun in rōkar ḷame ñan aikuj kein ad ilo Aelōñ Kein. Ej kadikḷọk jerbal in kōkkāāl bwe en dikḷọk kauwōtata, im kōjepḷaaktok aenōṃṃan im kōjatdikdik eo jukjukin pād ko ad rej aikuji.
Tōprak in ej barāinwōt juon menin wōnṃaanḷọk eo ilo Agenda 2030. Agenda 2030 ej rejañ kōj bwe en ḷapḷọk ad ekkejel ḷọk ippān laḷ ko jet, ad jeḷā tuwōn mour, im eṃṃanḷọk jokkun mour ñan aolep, im menin aikuj ko raorōktata ren maroñ tōpar aelōñ ko kajjojo im en ejjeḷọk juon jukjukin pād en ḷe likin ṃwieo. Iaḷan ito itak imejatoto ej aorōkin jibadbad im kōttōpar eo in. Baḷuun kein rōkāāl rej kōkōṃanṃanḷọk ad maroñ in ṇa iaḷan bōkto bōktak rinañinmej ro ilo idiñ, kōṃṃan bwe en ṃōkaj aer bōkto bōktak ṃweiuk ko, kōkōṃanṃanḷọk iaḷan ṃakūtkūt ko ikijjien jeḷāḷọkjeṇ im peejnej, im dāpij wōt kalliṃur eo bwe kajjojo baaṃle in Ṃajeḷ, jekdọọn ñe rejjeplōklōk, ak en wōr wōt iaḷaer ñan jeraaṃṃan. Jerbal in kōkkāāl in ñan airline in an Aelōñ Kein ej jab juon jerbal in kōkāāli wa ko waad wōt; ak ej juon joortoklik ikijjien ājmour ñan aolep, bōro k*k eo an laḷ in ad, im ad jeḷā tuwōn mour iuṃwin iiō ko rōllōñ. Agenda 2030 ej kūr ñan wōnṃaanḷọk: jerbal in kōṃṃan tokjān, im ej kowōnṃaanḷọk wōt menin aikuj ko an armej ro bwe en kōpooj laḷ in ad ñan menin kaapañpañ im eddo ko rej pedotok joñoul iiō jān kiiō im lonlok.
Būrojāāk rōt kein rōḷḷap rej pedped wōt ioon jitūbōn jeṃjerā. Jerbal in koṇ ko ikōtaan administration in, ak kien in ippān laḷ ko jet eaorōk ilo tōprak in, ekoba juon jāān in jipañ eo aorōkin $8.3 milien jān Amedka im juon ḷoon jān ROC Taiwan ñan jipañ kōkōṃanṃanḷọk baḷuun ko waad. Kōmij kwaḷọk am kaṃṃoolol eḷap ñan kien eo an Amedka, kōn jipañ ko an ilo Compact eo im ñan Republic eo an China (Taiwan), kōn jipañ ko aer ikijjien jāān. Kōn tōmak in ami ilo reiṃaanḷọk in am ñan ilju jekḷaj eo an Ri-Ṃajeḷ, ej kwaḷọk joñan aorōkin democracy im ad ekkel ippān doon.
Ñan Board im Management eo an AMI, im pilot, engineer, im aolep rijerbal ro ilo Air Marshall Islands: baḷuun in epād kiiō ilupiden peimi bwe koṃwin tiljek im kōjparoke. Lukkuun jojo-kōjparoke im en utiej būruomi kake kōn kijejeto eo koṃ ar kwaḷọk ilo ami kar kōjparok baḷuun ko ṃokta bwe ren kar jab bōjrak aer ekkāke. Ej ami jerbal, kapeel, im kūtmāejet eo eaar dāpij wōt armej rein ad ippān doon ipeḷaakin metoḷapḷap in. Kiiō etōreān joḷọk āt in ‘Air Maybe’im likūt āt in ‘Little AMI.’
Ilo ṃool, inaaj emḷọke teep ko rōkōn karpeni jea ko ilowaan baḷuun ko ṃokta. Ilo juon tōre, eaar bōjrak ad lali āinwōt jet kōkarpenpen ñan jorrāān ko ilowaan wa ko, im raar oktak im āinwōt jet kainōknōk ñan lowaan wa kein, joñan an to aer pād. Jekdọọn ñe raar jab po ḷōmāer ilo an armej lali, ak raar oktak im erom jet kōkaḷḷe in ad jeḷā kilen mour, kein kaṃool ke jekdọọn ñe ejabwe kein jerbal ko ippād, ak jaar wōnṃaanḷọk wōt im jab ebbweer bwe wa kein ren jab bōjrak aer ekkāke. Im kiiō eṃōj an dedeḷọk jerbal ko an wa kein, im etōreān aer bōjrak jān aer jerbal. Im jenkwaer renaaj pād wōt ilo kajjojo iien jok im kālọk ko aer im eḷaptata ilo ememej ko ad.
Ilo ad itōn kōjeraṃṃan baḷuun in waad ekāāl, jej kotake ilo jar kein ad bwe en eṃṃan im ejjeḷọk jorrāān ñane. En kōjparoke jān ḷañ ko rōḷḷap, ilo an bōkto bōktak bajinjea ro an ilo ejjeḷọk jorrāān, ilo aer tōpar ijoko rej jibadeki ḷọk. Im en maroñ in bōkṃaanḷọk jitūbōn jerbal an ro ṃoktaḷọk, im raar kotak Aelōñ Kein ad ilo kate im kijejeto ko aer bwe jen maroñ in amān jokḷā eo rainin.
Anij en Kōjeraṃṃan Kōjwōj Kajjojo im barāinwōt Aelōñ Kein ad.
Koṃwōj Kanooj In Eṃṃool.
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Presidential Address for H.E. Hilda C. Heine
Arrival and Blessing of the first Cessna SkyCourier 408
Amata Kabua International Airport, Majuro
May 4, 2026
● Ṃokta jān aō bōk koṇaō ilo jibboñin rainin, ikōṇaan kobaḷọk ilo naan in jar eo an rūkaki in jemād im leḷọk nebar im kaṃṃoolol ñan Jemād ilañ kōn rainin. Juon kile ejenolok nan Rev. Lemari eo ear boktok jar in kojeraman eo ad jibbonin.
● Kile ritōl ro ad ilo ṃanit - Chairman im Vice Chairman eo, im Irooj, Lerooj, im Owner eo ilo Iṃweo iṃōn Irooj. Juon special kile nan Lerooj Anke Laelang im Alap ro aer bwidej in.
● Kile Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice-Speaker, Cabinet Minister ro, Senator ro kajjojo, im ro karejerami;
● Kile Chaplain in an Nitijeḷā, ekoba aolep Rūkaki im Kōrā in Rūkaki ro jined ilo kabuñ ko ad kajjojo;
● Kile Chief Justice eo im aolep judge ro ad ilo Iṃōn Ekajet ko ad ilo peḷaak ko aolep ilo Aelōñ Kein;
● Kile Mayor eo ad ilo Mājro in, Opija ro an MIMA, im mayor ro ad kajjojo ilo jukjukin pād ko ad ipeḷaakin aelōñ kein;
● Kile Chief Secretary eo, Chairman eo im ro ṃōttan ilo Public Service Commission eo, im aolep ro rej jeban ra ko im SOE ko, ekoba aolep ri-jerbal ro aolep an Kien in ad;
● Kile rein ṃōttad jān Diplomatic Corp eo jān Japan, United States, Taiwan, im Australia;
● Juon kile ejenoḷọk ñan Board of Director eo, Management, im aolep ri-jerbal in Air Marshall Islands; im barāinwōt ro ṃōttaer ilo Aviation Taskforce eo;
● Āliktata im ejab diktata, kile aolep rein rōkar koba tok ñan witness e iien in eḷap an aorōk im ejenoḷọk ilo bwebwenato. Juon kile ejenolok nan aolep rijikuul rein rar maron kobatok iped ilo jibbonin rainin.
Today, as we gather here at the Amata Kabua International Airport, we stand at a point where history and future meet. The arrival of this Cessna SkyCourier is more than the introduction of a new aircraft; it is the renewal of a national promise first made more than forty years ago, when our young Republic began its journey toward self‑determination and unity across the ocean that binds us as one people.
Just days ago, during our celebration of the 47th anniversary of the Republic of the Marshall Islands’ Constitution, I reflected on the legacy of our ancestors as the greatest navigators the world has ever known. Guided only by the stars, the ocean swells, and ancestral knowledge, they mapped this great blue nation long before modern tools were ever imagined. They taught us that water does not divide us; it connects us. Today, as we welcome this new aircraft, we continue that legacy of navigation. We do so with modern technology, but with the same purpose: to keep our people connected, to keep our nation whole, and to ensure that no Marshallese community is ever left behind.
Allow me to take us back to the early 1980s during the arrival of our first national aircraft. As one recalls, “the scene at the airport and across the atolls was one of profound national pride.” When the Airline of the Marshall Islands (later known as Air Marshall Islands) first took flight in 1980, crowds gathered on Majuro and across the outer islands. Entire villages lined coral runways. Children cheered. Our elders watched with tears of pride. For many, it was the first time they had seen the “wings” that would replace weeks‑long journeys by ship with a flight of just an hour.
Those first Nomads, the Hawker Siddeley 748, the Dornier 228s, and later the DC‑8‑62 Combi were more than machines. They were lifelines. They carried mail, medicine, teachers, elders, and even fresh tuna bound for markets across the world. They linked Majuro to the farthest reaches of our islands, turning days of ocean travel into hours. And with the HS‑748 and later the DC‑8, our reach extended beyond our shores connecting the Marshall Islands to Kiribati, Tuvalu, Fiji, Honolulu.
These aircraft turned isolation into connection. They transformed a scattered ocean nation into a community linked by air. They shrank the distance of the ocean and brought our islands closer than ever before. These wings did not take flight by accident. They were the result of bold vision and unwavering determination, a belief that a sovereign nation must be able to reach its own people and engage with the world on its own terms.
We honor President Amata Kabua and the early members of the Nitijela, who understood that a nation of islands could not truly be one people if separated by the waves. They believed that sovereignty required our own “wings of the islands.” They faced skeptics, they faced cost, they faced distance, but they pressed forward. Their courage built the airfields that remain our lifelines today. As we commission this new aircraft, we fulfill their original dream.
We also honor the pioneers who kept our early fleet flying as they were the heartbeat of our atolls for decades. They braved storms, landed on coral runways, and carried hope to communities far from the capital. We also honor the pilots and engineers who, through determination and skill, kept our aging aircraft and vintage engines alive as our nation’s lifeline. Your service is deeply appreciated.
For many years, our national airline struggled with an aging fleet that was increasingly difficult to keep in the air. And for many years, the ‘Air Maybe’ era was accepted as the status quo, but this administration refused to accept that for our people.
Today, with the arrival of this first Cessna SkyCourier, we begin a new chapter defined by action, not excuses. This aircraft is a workhorse for the nation. Equipped with 19 seats and expanded cargo capacity, this aircraft is designed for the realities of our islands. It strengthens safety, reduces maintenance burdens, and restores the reliability our communities deserve.
This achievement is also a direct expression of our Agenda 2030 vision. Agenda 2030 calls for a Marshall Islands that is more connected, more resilient, and more equitable, where essential services reach every atoll and no community is left behind. Reliable air service is central to that mission. These new aircraft strengthen our medical evacuation capacity, ensure timely delivery of supplies, support education and economic activity, and uphold the promise that every Marshallese family, no matter how remote, remains connected to opportunity. Modernizing our national airline is therefore not just a transportation upgrade; it is a strategic investment in health access, national unity, and long‑term resilience. This is Agenda 2030 in action: practical, people‑centered progress that prepares our country for the challenges and responsibilities of the decade ahead.
Projects of this magnitude are built on strong friendships. This administration’s diplomatic efforts have been central to this success, including securing an $8.3 million grant from the United States and a preferential loan offer from Taiwan to support fleet modernization. We express our deep appreciation to the United States Government, for its support through our Compact partnership and to the Republic of China (Taiwan), for critical financial cooperation. Your belief in our vision of a connected Marshall Islands reflects the strength of our shared democratic values and enduring ties.
To the Board of Directors, the Management team, and the pilots, engineers, and everyone at Air Marshall Islands: this aircraft is now entrusted to your care. Treat it with the same pride and dedication you have shown in keeping our older planes flying. It is your labor, your skill, and your determination that have kept our islands connected and our people bound together across the sea. It is time to restore the pride of ‘Little Amy’ and permanently retire the old nickname ‘Air Maybe.’
I must admit, I will miss the bandages and tape that decorated the inside of those old planes. At some point, they stopped looking like repairs and started looking like part of the interior design. But in their own way, they became a quiet symbol of our resilience, proof that even with limited tools we still found a way to keep moving forward. Those aircraft have fulfilled their duty and have truly earned their rest. Their legacy lives on in every takeoff and every landing that serves our people today.
As we welcome and bless this new vessel, we lift our prayers for its safe passage. May the winds favor its journey. May it always return its passengers safely home. And may it carry forward the spirit of those who came before us, those who first lifted our sovereign nation into the skies.
May God bless each of us, and may He continue to bless the Republic of the Marshall Islands.
Kommol tata.
