Mail headed for
American Samoa
stacks up in isles
More than eight tons of mail bound for American Samoa are stuck in Hawaii and more is piling up each day as the U.S. territory's only airport cleans rocks and gravel from its main runway to keep more planes from being damaged.
Hawaiian Airlines, which usually carries the mail to American Samoa, suspended its weekly service to Pago Pago International Airport on June 24 after two of its aircraft were damaged by loose debris on the runway.
Torrential rains over the past several weeks caused the poor runway conditions and the cleanup was completed yesterday. Federal Aviation Administration personnel are set to inspect the runway tomorrow morning.
Hawaiian Airlines spokesman Keoni Wagner said the runway could be reopened by tomorrow afternoon.
But the airline has yet to schedule any flights or cabin crew for flight tomorrow because of the possibility that the runway, which is scheduled to resurfaced in August, may not be cleared of debris.
"We're simply not going to take any risks," Wagner said.
Meanwhile, an additional two tons of mail headed for American Samoa come into Honolulu daily. And the 150 to 200 pounds of mail that usually comes to Honolulu from American Samoa with each Hawaiian Airlines flight is also stacking up.
Marc Dixon, a spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service in Honolulu, said postal officials are trying to contract a private carrier to fly all of the backed-up mail to American Samoa on Saturday.
Dixon said some mail was given to military officials in hopes that they could add it to cargo flights headed for the U.S. territory about 2,300 miles south of Hawaii. But those flights were canceled because of the runway concerns and the mail was returned to the postal service.
"We have a responsibility to serve the public and our customers," Dixon said. "It's really put us in a bind. We're not normally a mail holding facility. We're hoping that we can restore service."
For some, the mail backlog is more than just an inconvenience.
George Reid, the owner of Shoetree, a shoe and clothing shop in American Samoa, said the stoppage has depleted his business' stock and jeopardized his credibility with his mainland vendors, who he said don't believe him when he tells them the island's main runway -- and the only airstrip that can handle large aircraft -- is closed.
Close to 100 percent of Reid's goods are flown in by mail. He said he usually receives 40 to 50 pairs of shoes with each flight.
"We don't have the goods. We need the goods," he said. "It ruins the business, is ruining its credit."
Dixon said he couldn't recall any similar mail holdups. The Honolulu branch also serves the Northern Marianas in addition to American Samoa.