GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Stranded travelers Kadijah Jones, left, Katie Makofsky and Jessica Thiessen of the Mission of Hope Ministries waited to check in at the Pagoda Hotel yesterday after arriving in Honolulu en route to American Samoa.
Samoan airport
cleared for takeoffStranded passengers finally
will be able to fly on Hawaiian Air
The Pago Pago International Airport received clearance to reopen its main runway yesterday after repairs were completed, paving the way for Hawaiian Airlines to begin flying out hundreds of passengers stranded in American Samoa and Hawaii.
The passengers have been stranded on Oahu and American Samoa for at least two weeks awaiting Hawaiian Air's service between the islands.
"None of us expected it to take this long to fix," said Alabama resident Cathy Herd, who was to fly from Honolulu to American Samoa on June 27 to start her 20-day pharmacy rotation at LBJ Tropical Medical Center.
Herd and hundreds of passengers are staying with friends or at hotels until they receive notice from Hawaiian Air on their flight to American Samoa.
Since June 24, the airline temporarily canceled six round-trip flights between Honolulu and American Samoa after two of its aircraft were damaged by loose debris on the runway.
Federal Aviation Administration Pacific representative Tweet Coleman said sealant was applied over the runway to keep debris from being sucked into jet engines. The FAA certified the repairs in a 3 p.m. (Hawaii time) news conference in American Samoa yesterday, she said. The action means the runway can reopen, she said.
Hawaiian Air, American Samoa's only carrier to the mainland via Honolulu, runs three flights per week.
After notification from Pago Pago airport officials, Hawaiian Air will need 48 hours to restart its flights, said spokesman Keoni Wagner. They had not been notified as of last night. One or two round-trip flights will be added per week until the backlog of travelers is cleared, Wagner added.
Herd, a pharmacy student at Auburn University, is staying with friends in Kailua with her son, Brayden and fiance, Joe Arredondo. Herd said she needs to fly to American Samoa by July 12 to complete her rotation at the hospital. If not, she will need to reschedule her rotation in December.
Herd, however, said they are making the most of their time in Hawaii by visiting Kailua Beach and the Polynesian Cultural Center. "We weren't expecting to have a Hawaiian vacation," she said.
While some are staying with friends, a number of people are staying in hotels through the aid of good Samaritans.
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Cathy Herd, an Auburn University student, son Brayden and fiance Joe Arredondo, are staying with friends in Kailua while awaiting word on their flight.
A group called Mission of Hope Ministries from several mainland cities stayed at the Pagoda Hotel last night after boat broker Todd Liddy paid for seven rooms because he heard about the group's plight.
Outrigger Hotels & Resorts will provide complimentary rooms for the group until they leave for the island.
The Rev. Vaifanua Pele and 20 other members -- doctors and medical and nursing students -- plan to visit villages in American Samoa, Western Samoa and Savaii to treat about 1,000 people in need of medical attention. Pele said they may have to cancel a visit to a village on Savaii if they do not leave by today.
"If we leave by Friday, we could still save 75 percent of the mission," he said.
Mission member Mabel Alice Sineath said, "We're pushing every penny we can to go on this trip."
But Sineath and other mission members remained unfazed by the delay.
"We love setbacks," said the Rev. Ned Reidy. "It's no ordeal at all."
Officials from two other airlines said they are booked for flights to Apia, Western Samoa, until the end of August.
An official from Polynesian Airlines, which has a weekly flight between Honolulu and Western Samoa, said the office has been "bombarded" with phone calls from people inquiring about flights.
"It's really, really bad. This is our busiest season because of the church conferences in Western Samoa," said the official who did not want to give her name. About 60 percent of calls made to Polynesian Airlines were from Hawaiian Air passengers, she said.
About 150 people in Hawaii remain on the waiting list for Polynesian Airlines' flight to Western Samoa, she said.
A reservation consultant from Air New Zealand said they have been getting more calls than usual. The airlines flies from Los Angeles to Western Samoa every Tuesday.
