Repatriation flights

TV1 Samoa reports the Cabinet meeting this week approved the new flights.

The first of the four flights will arrive on April 17 from New Zealand and will be bringing citizens from the United States mainland, Hawaii, Alaska and Europe.

Passengers are advised to negotiate with the New Zealand Government and Air New Zealand with regard to quarantine in Auckland, as well as dates and time of connecting flights from these destinations to connect with flights out of New Zealand.

According to a Government press release, there has also been an amendment to the SOE Orders to allow domestic ferry travel from Savaii on Sundays.

The first repatriation flight on 14 January will be a charted plane from Tonga that will repatriate Samoans, who will arrive in Tongatapu on an earlier flight from New Zealand.  

The Lulutai Airlines flight will return to Tongatapu on the same day with Tongans stranded in Samoa.

Another return flight is scheduled to bring home Samoan sailors from New Zealand on 22 January 2021.

The flights have been arranged to return Samoan citizens stranded in New Zealand, Australia, Europe, China, Japan and the United States.

According to a Position Paper approved by Cabinet, as of this month 1,350 Samoans stuck overseas will be repatriated.

The flights are tentatively scheduled to commence from 30 October to 11 December 2020.

Savali Newspaper reports in approving the special flights, Prime Minister Tuilaepa Dr. Sailele Malielegaoi has assured that Cabinet did not take its decision to approve the 5 repatriation flights lightly.

Prime Minister Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi said the government had approved five repatriation flights from Los Angeles starting later this month.

Samoans in the US and Europe will have to make their own way to Los Angeles or New Zealand to board repatriation flights to Apia, he said.

More than 1,300 people have already registered for five flights from New Zealand in coming weeks.

All who return will have to undergo health checks and quarantine.

TV1 Samoa reports most of the arrivals were returning seasonal workers who have completed their contracts in Aotearoa.

Also on board were Samoans who have been stranded in New Zealand since March when the country closed its borders.

All arriving passengers will be tested for Covid-19 and undergo 14 days of supervised quarantine.

Repatriation flights to Samoa were suspended last month after New Zealand was hit with a second wave of the virus.

The pause will prevent quarantine facilities from being overwhelmed.

The Samoa Observer reported that initially there were going to be 15 quarantine sites in Samoa, grouping passengers into sets of 10.

However, skyrocketing numbers forced the Government to abandon those limits.

About 1000 passengers have been released from quarantine so far after being cleared of Covid-19 but hundreds more are on the way.

The chair of the National Emergency Operation Centre Ulu Bismarck Crawley said the flight on Friday would bring more than 300 passengers.

According to TV1Samoa the call from Fuiavailili Egon Keil comes after a fight broke out between two quarantined passengers, believed to be returning seasonal workers, during a drinking session at a hotel in the capital Apia where they were being quarantined.

Fuiavailili says the National Emergency Operations Committee should address the issue of alcohol and that drinking should be banned in the quarantine sites.

More than 160 American Samoans have been stranded in Apia since the Covid-19 lock down and dozens of Samoans are also keen to return home from Pago Pago.

Local media are reporting at least 40 people a day could be repatriated with both Samoa Airways and Talofa Airways operating flights.

The Samoa government has relaxed travel conditions on their end, so returning citizens do not need to be tested for Covid-19, providing they can prove they have been in the territory for at least 14 days.

That's according to information shared at this week's Coronavirus Taskforce meeting.

The Attorney General's Office is going over the final numbers with authorities in Samoa.

Director of Health Motusa Tuileama Nua said the plan was to bring in 40 people a day.

All will be taken to quarantine centres and will be Covid-19 tested.

He said there would be flights Wednesday, Thursday and Friday this week.

The DYWA Centre in Pago Pago will be the main quarantine site used.