American Samoa's international airport at Pago Pago has received clearance to reopen its main runway, paving the way for Hawaiian Airlines to begin flying out hundreds of passengers stranded in American Samoa and Hawaii.
The passengers have been stranded on Oahu and American Samoa since the airline cancelled its six round-trip flights between Honolulu and American Samoa on June 24th after two of its aircraft were damaged by loose debris on the runway.
A Federal Aviation Administration representative has now approved repairs to the runway
Hawaiian Air says once it restarts its service it may add one or two extra flights per week until the passenger backlog is cleared.
