TI’AVEA FOR REGIONAL & INTER-ISLAND DUTIES
Dismissing the Samoa Observer reports that the Ti’avea Airport is unsuitable for international duties and does not have the capacity to service a Boeing 737-800 aircraft and other larger aircrafts, Minister of Works, Infrastructure and Transport Papali’itele Unasa Niko Lee Hand told Savali that the Airport was never designed nor planned from the start for international duties.
Instead the original plan is to cater for inter-island and regional services by the national carrier Samoa Airways between the two Samoas and neighboring Pacific Islands like Cook Islands and Tonga.
To the extend, Papaliitele explained that the runway will be extended to 1,400 meters to cater for aircrafts planned by Samoa Airways for inter-island and regional travel.
“The airport will also be used during emergencies and natural disasters to fly in supplies and other urgently needed resources,” he elaborated and noted that the airport was never designed or intended to service a Boeing 737 aircraft as alluded by the newspaper accounts.
“Experts have verified that the Ti’avea’s airstrip is longer and safer than Fagalii Airport and perfect to meet Samoa Airways planned flights for the region and with Faleolo Airport included in the plan to facilitate the flights,” explained the Works Minister.
He said that his clarification will also “lay to the rest the speculations cooked up to ridicule the Government’s initiative to build the airport at Tiavea.”
Papaliitele lead a Cabinet delegation that included the Minister of Revenue Tialavea Tioni Sio Hunt and Finance Minister Sili Epa Tuioti that visited the airstrip last week as part of their fact finding mission to prepare a submission to Cabinet to support the 600 meter extension to the runway.
