One of the two passengers who were taken off last Thursday’s Hawaiian Airlines flight upon arrival at Pago Pago International Airport and questioned by authorities regarding an alleged bomb threat has shared her ordeal in a Facebook post.
Makerita Faaee Iosefo and her sister were the two passengers questioned by local authorities in connection to the alleged threat.
She said she and her sister were “utterly humiliated and embarrassingly mistreated” by Hawaiian Airlines and local authorities upon arrival.
They were escorted off the aircraft and had their bags searched without consent before they were taken to the Tafuna substation for questioning.
She said all the authorities at the airport—including airport police, immigration, customs, DPS, and Hawaiian Airlines staff—looked at her and her sister like criminals, and not a single person explained to them the reason why they were given this treatment.
KHJ News previously quoted the Commissioner of Public Safety, Taaga Saite Moliga, saying that social media post had referred to a bomb being on board the aircraft. He said that two people on the passenger list with the same last name as the person who made the post were questioned at the Tafuna substation and later released after it was determined they had no connection to, or knowledge of, the person or persons responsible.
Iosefo said as they walked into the baggage claim area, she saw the commissioner and asked, “What’s going on?” But he kept his distance and wouldn’t say anything.
She said her sister, who has cancer and had undergone a third round of chemo treatment off-island, was “distraught, embarrassed, confused, jetlagged and flustered.” When they exited through the the back door of the baggage claim and saw DPS officers and detectives along “with what seemed to be like 20 police cars” waiting for them outside, her sister broke down. She yelled and demanded an explanation. “Finally,” said Iosefo,” the commissioner gave the ok to a detective to explain [what was going on].”
They were informed that there had been a bomb threat against that night’s flight. Iosefo said she had more questions, as she didn’t understand how this was connected to her and her sister.
Despite her sister asking to ride with her due to her health condition, they were placed in separate vehicles to go to the Tafuna substation. At the substation, they were put in two separate rooms for interrogation.
According to Iosefo, she was asked if she knew an Amy Iosefo or a Jennifer Iosefo. Authorities told her that shortly after the flight departed from Hawaii, a tip had come in about a social media post made by an Amy Iosefo to a Jennifer Iosefo, stating she was uncomfortable to board the plane because someone with a bomb strapped to them was on the flight.
Iosefa pointed out that she and her sister were targeted because they were the only “Iosefos” on the flight. “This is a case I know without a doubt I will win in court,” she wrote.
She cautioned: “If this happened to us, it can happen to anyone. An innocent traveler just trying to get home, and all of a sudden your world is turned upside down unnecessarily by authorities who could not do their jobs properly.”
