12 Jan 2012

American Samoa's Inter Island Air planes grounded

7:02 pm on 12 January 2012

The grounding of two aircraft belonging to American Samoa's Inter Island Air has left many passengers stranded in Apia.

A spokesperson for Inter Island Air says their planes have not been flying since the weekend to Manu'a and to Samoa since Monday.

One aircraft is down with mechanical problems at Samoa's Faleolo Airport and the other is grounded for reasons the airline has declined to reveal.

Stranded passengers are reported to have to go to Fagalii Airport in Apia every day and wait for available seats on Polynesian, which is heavily booked.