Pago Pago airport cleared to resume flight operations
By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer
Pago Pago International Airport in American Samoa, which has been closed since June 24 because of its deteriorating asphalt runway, was certified to resume flight operations yesterday by the Federal Aviation Administration.
FAA approval clears the way for possibly hundreds of stranded passengers to return home from Honolulu. But it was unclear last night when Hawaiian Airlines, the only airliner that flies direct from Honolulu to Pago Pago, would resume service.
Hawaiian still needs a letter of clearance from Pago Pago officials, said FAA spokeswoman Tweet Coleman. Then Hawaiian officials will need at least 48 hours to resume flights to American Samoa, Hawaiian spokesman Keoni Wagner said last night.
"We've never had to do this before," Wagner said. "We're still waiting on the confirmation and we can't operate without it. As soon as we get it, we'll make a determination as to how soon we can start."
Hawaiian halted flights to Pago Pago after two of its aircraft were damaged using the runway, one on June 10 from the loose asphalt, and a second plane June 23, resulting in a 17-hour delay and $400,000 in repairs, Coleman said.
An FAA certification inspector and FAA project engineer who looked at the runway last week "found it not up to standards," Coleman said. Repairs were made and FAA approved the runway yesterday.
Hawaiian normally flies to Pago Pago on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays. Once they get official clearance, Hawaiian officials will add one or two flights per week "until we clear the backlog of travelers," Wagner said.
Hawaiian officials have not yet calculated how much the runway closure cost the airline, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March. And they do not know how many passengers booked flights to Pago Pago on other airlines, via Western Samoa, and will take advantage of Hawaiian's offer of ticket refunds, Wagner said.
William Reardon, his wife, Soa, and their 12-year-old daughter, Taimane, have been staying at the Pagoda Hotel for nearly two weeks, waiting for the runway to be cleared.
Reardon, a lawyer, missed an important court date and meetings with clients, he said.
"Honolulu's a nice place if you're going to be stuck someplace and you have credit cards," Reardon said. "It's a nice place, but the office isn't covered and I have business to do back home."
Louie Denolfo, who lives in Pago Pago Village, has been staying with friends in Punalu'u since he was stranded after a two-week trip to the Mainland.
He misses his 14-year-old son and wife back home, and unlike Reardon is short on cash.
"I was doing the whole thing on a shoestring anyway," he said. "Now I'm running out of money."
