Medical Charter on Hawaiian Air Takes Off

It was 12:21 this morning when Hawaiian Airlines Pualani A330 plane carrying took off from Pago Pago International Airport. It was the first flight by the carrier to American Samoa in more than four months.

The aircraft arrived at 9:07 pm without any passengers, just the crew, to pick up off-island medical referrals, college bound students, military personnel and people living in Hawaii and the mainland who have been stranded here since flights were discontinued in March.

For the return flight, nearly all of the 277 seats on the aircraft was occupied.  

Posts on Facebook expressed appreciation to the Governor, the Coronavirus Task force, the LBJ Hospital and Off Island Medical Referral Committee, the Department of Health and to Medicaid Director Sandra King Young and her staff for their efforts in making the flight a reality.

The goodbyes in the airport parking lot, as only passengers were allowed in the terminal building, were bittersweet. There was an extra tinge of sadness because of the uncertainty of when relatives would see their loved ones again as there is no indication when the borders  will be reopened and with coronavirus cases and deaths taking an upward surge in Hawaii and the mainland.