American Samoan start-up Tausani Airlines (Pago Pago) is set to begin its certification process, with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) due to inspect its aircraft in the summer, reports Samoa News. The airline has been waiting since at least July 2016 for the FAA to examine its refurbished American Samoan Government Britten-Norman BN-2 N684AS (msn 897).
This is not the first attempt to start up an airline on the islands using the government-owned aircraft. Previously, Manu'a Airways (Pago Pago) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the American Samoan Government to commence commercial services, but the MOU was revoked in December 2014. The hangar and aircraft were then passed to Tausani to try its luck.
Tausani has so far received USD250,000 of a USD400,000 loan from the Development Bank of American Samoa towards establishing an airline in the US territory, and intends to operate scheduled flights from Pago Pago to Ofu and Tau on the Manu'a Islands.
