Midway Atoll Tours Stop After Manager Pulls Out

Tours to Midway Atoll, the former World War II battle site in the Pacific that was opened to eco-tourists, divers, anglers and other visitors in 1996, were suspended after the company that managed the tourist services pulled out. Commercial flights ended in January; charter flights this month have been returning staff home.

Georgia-based Midway Phoenix Corp., which managed the site, cited an “unacceptable” relationship with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the decision to suspend operations at Midway. It reportedly has lost millions on the venture. But no formal notice ending its contract with the agency had been received as of last week, and the two sides were still in negotiations, said Barbara Maxfield, a spokeswoman for U.S. Fish and Wildlife. Aloha Airlines, under contract since 1998 to make weekly flights between Hawaii and Midway, has stopped the service.

A spokesman for the San Francisco-based Oceanic Society, which had about 250 people signed up for eco-trips beginning after Jan. 19, said the cancellation was a blow. The Oceanic Society has taken nearly 2,000 people to Midway in recent years.