09.02.2021 - 12:42 UTC
Talofa Airways (Apia Faleolo) has suspended scheduled services until Samoa reopens its borders, the airline confirmed to ch-aviation by email.
According to ch-aviation schedules module, the privately-owned carrier has cancelled rotations on its triangular network normally run between Tongatapu (Tonga), Apia Fagali'iA (Samoa), and Pago Pago (American Samoa).
All international services by the only other Samoan airline, Samoa Airways (OL, Apia Faleolo), remain grounded until March 31, 2021, or until further notice, according to a notice on the company's website. The state-owned airline has stopped flying internationally since Samoa closed its international borders on March 25, 2020. According to its website, it does offer limited domestic services between Apia and Maota Savai'i Island (Samoa); Pago Pago and Ofu (American Samoa); and Pago Pago and Fitiuta (American Samoa). However, according to Flightradar24 ADS-B data and the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, its three DHC-6-300s have been inactive and stored at Apia for the past few months.
In response to the emergence of new strains...
06.11.2020 - 03:41 UTC
American Samoa, a US territory in the South Pacific, is reportedly preparing legal action against the US Department of Transportation to give Samoan flag carrier Samoa Airways (OL, Apia Faleolo) cabotage rights between Hawaii and Pago Pago, the capital of American Samoa.
The US territory comprises seven South Pacific islands and atolls; whereas Samoa is an independent member of the Commonwealth that gained its independence from New Zealand in 1962.
The Samoa Observer reports that US cabotage laws currently prevent Samoa Airways from carrying US-based passengers on the route between Pago Pago and Hawaii.
American Samoa Governor, Lolo Matalasi Moliga, had instructed the territory's attorney-general to prepare a lawsuit over the matter in the US Supreme Court, the newspaper reports.
The governor, in his 2020 State of the Territory address earlier this year, said he had written to US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao requesting an exemption that would allow Samoa Airways to pick up passengers in American Samoa destined for Hawaii and the mainland, Samoa News reported....
23.10.2020 - 22:08 UTC
The US Department of Transportation has awarded an exemption to Samoa's Talofa Airways (Apia Faleolo) to provide domestic flights between Pago Pago and airports in the Manu'a Islands in American Samoa.
The Samoan carrier said it was planning to launch 2x daily, weekday-only services from October 26, 2020, using a Turbo Commander 690B. It did not elaborate as to which airports in the Manu'a Islands (Ofu, Fitiuta, or Tau) it was planning to serve. It has yet to launch sales for the American Samoan operations on its website.
The exemption was granted on a trial basis for a period of 30 days, through November 24, 2020.
Domestic services within American Samoa are currently operated by Samoa Airways (OL, Apia Faleolo) using DHC-6-300s, although they have been suspended since July 2020 due to the COVID-related restrictions. The DOT noted that the reliability of these services was underwhelming. The Senate of American Samoa formally requested Talofa Airways to seek an exemption and enter its domestic market in...
26.06.2020 - 04:22 UTC
The Government of Tonga has banned all foreign carriers from operating to Tongatapu, the country's sole international gateway, at least through September 12, 2020, to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Tourism announced in its newsletter.
The order affects Air New Zealand (NZ, Auckland Int'l), Fiji Airways (FJ, Nadi), and Talofa Airways (Apia Faleolo). Flag carrier Real Tonga Airlines (R4, Tongatapu) currently operates only domestic routes between various islands of Tonga.
Meanwhile, the Government of Fiji is planning to include Tonga in its list of countries covered by the Pacific Pathway plan. Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama said during a media briefing that the government was liaising with its counterparts in Tonga, Tuvalu, and Kiribati to allow their citizens to fly to and from Fiji, where the only WHO-certified COVID-testing facility in the region is. These passengers would still be quarantined for 14 days in Fiji, but could then continue out- or inbound travel to their home countries with COVID-free certificates.
Bainimarama said that...
