Faleolo International airport

Over 120,000 travelers visit Samoa

The airport has come alive with 21 flights a week reports Savali newspaper.

Since late November 2022, Air New Zealand has maintained 12 weekly flights from Auckland utilizing a mix of Boeing 787 and Airbus 321.

Fiji Airways has 7 flights a week return to Nadi and 1 service to Honolulu on their Boeing 737 Max aircraft.

Qantas currently operates twice weekly flights to Australia.

Silimanai said the flights account for 25 per cent of aircraft movement at Faleolo.

He added that two per cent are private and charter services.

Samoa Police to establish permanent unit at the Faleolo International Airport

The decision was made after a woman breached security and flew to Fiji.

The incident prompted the deployment of a police unit to boost security at the airport. 

Samoa Police also confirmed they are finalising an office space at the airport for their airport team to be stationed there so they are able to offer support for international airport security.

The Force said it is also preparing for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 2024 and these are necessary steps the police force has to take to prepare for the summit. 

     

Samoa’s Faleolo International Airport implements new ID card system

The New Zealand Civil Aviation funded the system with a $50 thousand tala grant.

New Zealand High Commissioner to Samoa, Dr. Trevor Matheson said, “In financial terms this is not a big spend from New Zealand but in terms of what we want to achieve and in terms of our relationship with Samoa this is significant.

“It’s also significant as the two countries commemorate the 60th anniversary of Diplomatic Relationships complimented by Samoa’s 60th Independence Celebrations.”

Samoa’s Faleolo International Airport on the comeback

As of this week, Fiji Airways was granted the go-ahead by Cabinet to commence a weekly service to Honolulu originating from Nadi-Faleolo-Honolulu and on the return leg reports Savali newspaper.

The latest permission complemented Fiji Airways three weekly direct flights between Nadi and Faleolo.

Qantas Airline is also back with a weekly direct flight originating from Sydney while Air New Zealand is flying in and out of Samoa four times a week.

Sanitary gates installed at Samoa’s Faleolo International Airport

Samoa Airport Authority (SAA) said as the first and last point of defense, it has developed a Public Health Corridor initiative in its efforts to maintain a high level of preventative measures at the airport.

“The goal is that we provide a last attempt at eliminating the risks of infectious bacteria carried on all surfaces by keeping to the principles of the Public Health Corridor which essentially is an end to end management of the passenger flow from arrivals to when they depart from the airport premises,” said SAA General Manager, Silimana’i Ueta Solomona.

Samoa’s international airport receives Airport Health Accreditation

This means that after a grueling process of evaluation the airport has been certified to be a safe and health conscious airport under the Airport Health Accreditation programme.

“After reviewing the evidence presented through our evaluation process, your airport has shown that it is providing a safe airport experience for all travelers which is in line with the recommended health measures established in the ACI Aviation Business Restart and Recovery guidelines and ICAO Council Aviation Recovery Task Force Recommendations, along with industry best practices.

NZ company contracted to improve Samoa's Faleolo airport

The government said work on the apron and taxiway was the first priority and would start in May.

Rehabilitation of the runway will start in February next year.

The Samoa Airport Authority has also signed a $US 1,023,286.28 contract with the Hawaiian company LYON Associates Inc., for technical advice.

The airport rehabilitation project is funded by the World Bank and the Samoan government.

 

Photo supplied 

     

Samoa opens part of new Faleolo terminal

 The new departure lounge cost $US31.7 million to build with funding coming through a loan from China.

The Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi said the project is part of the government's initiative to improve infrastructure.

"With the completion of the whole terminal building upgrades and the Samoa Airport Authority's new vision to be the Pacific's hub of air travel it is the government's hope that more new air carriers will make use of the new airport facilities to boost our tourism, trade and transport," said prime minister Tuilaepa.