Samoa Airline, Talofa Air, is to start flying to Tonga from July 1st.

The airline chief executive, Toleafoa Jeffrey Hunter, said they would fly to Tonga four times a week, twice from Fagalii on Upolu and twice from Pago Pago.

The airline, which only launched its service last year, was originally planning to fly to Vava'u in Tonga's north, but Toleafoa said they intend to focus on Tongatapu initially.

Toleafoa said ensuring there was a reliable fuel supply at Vavau was also an issue.