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Upgrades in progress at Pago Pago Int'l Airport

Sisgn at entrance to Pago Pago International Airport
reporters@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Arriving passengers may expect a slight delay with getting their bags upon arrival due to upgrades being carried out on the baggage carousel at the Pago Pago International Airport, which is now providing free wifi for traveling passengers.

BAGGAGE AREA

In a Nov. 19th memo, airport manager Tavita S. Fuimaono informed the public and travelers arriving at the Tafuna airport of an upgrade being carried out on the baggage carousel in the arrival area.

“It is advised to all passengers to expect a slight delay in receiving baggage upon your arrival as each airline personnel will be hand carrying baggage from airline carts and trailers into the arrival terminal for distribution to each passenger,” he said.

“We apologize for the inconvenience, and kindly ask for your patience from each arriving passenger during these delays as the airport is working diligently to upgrade our service,” at the Tafuna airport, he said.

Port Administration officials revealed during a cabinet meeting in August this year that one of the airport projects is the upgrade of the conveyer belt at the Tafuna airport arrival area, for passenger luggage. 

Fuimaono acknowledged at the time that there are a lot of complaints and criticism regarding the current state of the conveyer belt and Port Administration has moved to make the required upgrade.

The $500,000 project is funded with money collected under the passenger facility fee (PFC) — which is $4.50 per passenger. The work has been awarded to Glidepath Limited which Fuimaono told cabinet members is the same contractor that upgraded the conveyer belt at the Faleolo International Airport in Samoa.

FREE WIFI

In a Nov. 18th memo, airport IT Manager, Henry Cha announced “free wifi services to all our busy travelers” at the Tafuna airport.

The “PPG_HOTSPOT” is now available in the arrival and departure areas, the memo said.

Airport officials also remind everyone to “Be Aware of Your Surroundings” as the airport is undertaking several development projects, according to the memo.

Samoa News understands that the hotspot is provided by the American Samoa TeleCommunications Authority and the signal may not be strong at the check-in counters for the airlines.

Port Administration officials told Samoa News that this is just two of the many ongoing improvements to the Tafuna airport.