Lights out at Faleolo airport runway?

By Lanuola Tupufia – Ah Tong 25 October 2016, 12:00AM

Hundreds of passengers traveling from Australia, Fiji and Auckland were affected in delays and cancellations of flights at Faleolo International Airport during the past few days.

Reports that the delays were caused by the lights on the runway could not be confirmed.

Repeated phone calls to the Samoa Airport Authority (S.A.A) Chief Executive Officer, Magele Hoe Viali, were not responded to. A message was also left at his office but by press time last night, there was no response.   

An employee at the Faleolo Airport confirmed yesterday that the flights were back to normal but would not discuss the reports about runway lights not working.

The Samoa Observer understands that Virgin Samoa and Fiji Airways flights to the Faleolo airport were delayed due to the problem.

One of the Virgin flights was cancelled.  

A passenger on one of the flights from Brisbane on Sunday said their plane had to circle around for hours before it could land. 

“We were told (by the crew) the lights on the ground were not working,” said the passenger who works for the government and wishes to remain anonymous. 

“We had to wait until there was light when the sun came out before we could land. 

“We were supposed to land after 5 in the morning but we didn’t. We ended up landing after 7 o’clock yesterday morning (Sunday).”

By Lanuola Tupufia – Ah Tong 25 October 2016, 12:00AM

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