Samoa Airways interim chief executive Fauo'o Fatu Tielu has apologised to travellers over ongoing issues with Faleolo International Airport's container loader, which led to a New Zealand-bound flight leaving behind most of its cargo on Thursday.
Samoa Airways, which provides ground handling services for the airport, recently installed new ground service equipment from China at a cost of $1.4 million tālā in September. But the cargo loader was purchased separately from Spain at a cost of $1.1 million tālā.
Tielu told the Samoa Observer there had been a four-month delay by the Spain-based supplier of the refurbished container loading equipment.
He said the supplier has confirmed the equipment is now ready but is waiting for shipment which is likely to take another two months depending on the shipment schedule.