A tender for maintenance has been issued by the government for maintenance at two airports that are not in operation. There has been no reason given yet as to why the tender has been called.

The airports at Asau and Maota have not been in operation for some years, however, the latter was used for dropping COVID-19 vaccines and supplies during the lockdown.

This complies with an advertisement by the Samoa Airport Authority (SAA) seeking tenders for ground maintenance services at the Asau and Maota airports.

"Tenders are invited from interested contractors for the provision of ground maintenance service for, Asau Airport and Maota Airport.

"Ground maintenance is to be carried out twice a month," stated the Advertisement Notices.

According to previous reports, the Asau Airport in Savaii restarted flying services on 1 April 2021 during the peak Easter and election holidays to help boost tourism and has not been in operation since.

The Maota Airport was the major domestic airport on the island of Savaii until its flight services were discontinued in 2000 and restored in 2020. Samoa Airways restarted domestic flights in September of that year, however, it was closed following COVID-19.

When this newspaper asked one of SAA staff members whether the two airports were currently in operation or not and whether the maintenance was necessary for CHOGM preparations or flight testing, the staff member confirmed that the airports were not currently in operation.

The government is considering improving Maota Airport in the hopes that it will help Samoa's International Airport handle the surge of incoming planes for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in October of this year. 

The Ministry of Works, Transport and Infrastructure (M.W.T.I.) has stated earlier that they were looking at upgrading the Maota Airport in Savai'i with anticipation that it will assist Samoa's International Airport to deal with the influx of incoming aircraft for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 2024. 

The ministry will also use the Fagali'i Airport, which is now operational, for the same purpose if the Faleolo International Airport does not have enough space to park aircraft and private jets next year.