Samoa Airways (OL, Apia Faleolo) will take out a bank loan to pay redundancy compensation to staff furloughed in 2021, Minister for Public Enterprises Leatinu'u Wayne So'oialo told the Samoa Observer.
Leatinu'u underlined that the loan would only be used to compensate staff who were not able to work and were paid only a portion of their due compensation in 2021, but not those who were affected in 2020. The Samoan flag carrier curtailed its operations to a minimum during the country's long-lasting border closure caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Pacific archipelago only resumed relatively unrestricted international travel on August 1, 2022.
The airline reduced its fleet to just three DHC-6-300s (of which one is currently inactive and in need of maintenance), abandoning plans to add an in-house B737-800 despite the WST16 million tala (USD5.9 million) penalty it had to pay to Carlyle Aviation Partners.
However, as international travel recovers, the Samoan government is planning to reopen Apia Fagali'i, a shuttered airfield which serves the Samoan capital but which closed at the end of 2019 when all services moved to Apia Faleolo airport. However, Leatinu'u pointed out that the reopening of the former facility would be essential to the revival of links between Samoa and American Samoa, a nearby US territory.
"At the moment, there are limited [non-scheduled] flights operating from Faleolo. Hopefully, with the reopening of Fagali'i, we will have two to three flights to assist our people in travelling," the minister said.
Minister of Transport Olo Fiti Vaai said preparatory works were already underway and that a representative from the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority is currently in Samoa to confirm the safety and conformity of Fagali'i. However, the reopening of the airport will still require the approval of the cabinet. Olo stressed that the business community from both Samoas have been lobbying the government to reopen Fagali'i airport.
Samoa Airways used to operate scheduled services between Apia and Pago Pago in American Samoa, as well as domestic services within the latter connecting Pago Pago with Fitiuta and Ofu. All Samoa Airways' operations to and within American Samoa were suspended by July 2020 due to COVID-related travel restrictions.
