Newly appointed Chief Justice, His Honour Satiu Simativa Perese, is among passengers on an Air New Zealand flight scheduled to arrive on Friday.

The Auckland-Apia service was initially announced as a repatriation flight for Samoans stranded in New Zealand, but was changed during the week to a freight service, following compliance issues faced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (M.F.A.T.) in relation to coronavirus (COVID-19) testing requirements for arriving passengers.