5 Sep 2008

American Samoa's politicians ask questions about flight denied entry to Samoa

1:21 pm on 5 September 2008

American Samoa's House of Representatives is holding a hearing today on the move by Samoa to deny entry to an Inter Island Air flight last Thursday.

The hearing will hear testimony from the Federal Aviation Administration, the Attorney General's Office, the Governor's Office and Inter Island Airways.

The Samoa Civil Aviation Authority has been restricting Inter Island Air to two flights per day, while the airline wants to operate as many flights as demand dictates.

An Inter Island flight that was refused landing at Faleolo Airport last Thursday was the third flight for the day.

Samoa government sources say that the airline was notified by letter about the possibility of their aircraft being refused entry if it continued to ignore the conditions of its on-demand air charter permit.