When United Airlines pulled its Koror–Yap service in January 2018, the Federated States of Micronesia's Yap state nearly lost its most convenient link to Palau. The gap was filled not by an airline but by Pacific Missionary Aviation (PMA), a donation-funded charity that flies a pair of Beechcraft Super King Air 200 turboprops on the route — and, remarkably, picked up both aircraft for a dollar each.

The planes came from the charity Samaritan's Purse, which had previously used them as bush planes in Kenya. Overhauled and fitted with modern Garmin avionics and removable seats, they now split their time between scheduled passenger flying, medical evacuation work, and logistics for Yap's outer islands. PMA also runs sightseeing charters and even contracted maritime patrol work over Palau's waters for the Australian government.

The Palau–Yap flight has a genuine selling point for travellers: it's the only scheduled service to Yap that skips Guam, meaning you avoid transiting US immigration entirely. Yap's only other connection is United's twice-weekly Guam flight. On a recent October 2026 flight, the writer ended up in the co-pilot's seat wearing a headset for the whole trip — a reminder of how personal flying in this part of the Pacific can be.

The experience is charmingly informal. Check-in happens at PMA's hangar rather than the terminal, no boarding passes are issued, and immigration officers were summoned by shouting "coming" before stamping passengers out. The nine-seat cabin is pressurised, and with seats removed to make room for cargo, just seven passengers flew that day — PMA simply added a second rotation for the overflow.

The King Air 200 suits this kind of work well. Twin Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-42 engines, a cruise speed of 260–290 knots (far quicker than a typical island-hopper like an Islander at around 120 knots), short-runway capability, and a range of roughly 1,800 nautical miles. The aircraft flown on the Palau leg, N875SP, was built in 1975 and carries a special underbelly cargo pod; the second, N468SP from 1998, also served the writer on a 25-minute hop from Yap to the outer atoll of Ulithi — the largest commercial aircraft that tiny airstrip can take.

For adventurous travellers exploring Micronesia, this route matters. It links two culturally connected islands that would otherwise require a detour through Guam, and the flight itself doubles as a scenic tour over Palau's famed rock islands on departure. Expect an intimate, bush-plane atmosphere with none of the airport formality of mainstream carriers — but also none of the schedule certainty. Book ahead, stay flexible, and treat the flight as part of the experience rather than just transport.

Simple Flying