The Samoa Civil Aviation Authority says it does not believe Inter Island has been certified by the Federal Aviation Administration to operate as a commuter airline offering scheduled and charter flights.
The Chief Executive Officer of Samoa Civil Aviation, Vaaelua Nofo Vaaelua, said in a statement that Inter Island Airways is not a scheduled airline like Polynesian Airlines and South Pacific Express but a charter operation.
He says as a charter operator, Inter Island cannot sell its services with charter company Inter Island Vacations.
Inter Island recently unveiled plans to expand its services to neighboring islands and asked for the Fono's support to help sway the Samoa Government to lift the two flights per day restriction that was placed on its inter Samoa service.
Both the House and Senate have passed resolutions calling on Samoa to lift the restrictions and urging the governor to resume open dialogue with Samoa Government to allow Inter island to compete openly and fairly with other carriers flying the route.
