Pilots

Flights were suspended from Monday of last week after one of the two pilots operating flights to Manu'a tested positive for Covid.

Since the start of the Covid pandemic in 2020 the American Samoa Government has been leasing a Twin Otter with pilots and mechanic support to operate flights to the Manu'a islands.

An airline official in Apia says the delay is because the airline ran short of pilots who are Covid free and/or are still up to date with their flying hours.

The government has sponsored 22 Solomon Islanders to undergo pilot training in Fiji but local reports say it's not paying the expenses of those not due to complete their courses until the end of the year.

This comes after five pilots have completed the course, but three, who had gained their commercial pilots' licences and multi-engine ratings, have now lost them because they could not find flying jobs.