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“Mechanical item” reason for Hawaiian Air’s delay of Thursday night flight

Passengers on last week's HAL flight in departure lounge
Departing passengers didn’t take off until Friday afternoon
fili@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Hawaiian Airlines flight to Honolulu that was initially scheduled to return last Thursday evening didn’t depart Pago Pago until after 2p.m last Friday, and passengers were given meal vouchers valued at $15 to $30 at the airport.

The flight from Honolulu last Thursday night was delayed and Samoa News journalist, Ausage Fausia, who was among the departing passengers said the flight arrived very late, but travelers were not informed until much later that the flight back to Honolulu would not depart until Friday afternoon.

Hawaiian Airlines issued a flight advisory to the local media and airport officials said that the flight would depart at 1:30p.m Friday for Honolulu and that airline staff was working on connecting flights for passengers traveling beyond Honolulu. The airline offered its apologies for the delay.

“We had to troubleshoot a possible mechanical item with the aircraft in Honolulu, which led to a delayed departure and arrival in Pago Pago,” Hawaiian Airlines spokesperson, Alex DaSilva said Friday morning responding to Samoa News email questions.

Asked whether the airline was able to accommodate travelers, who would miss their connecting flights out of Honolulu, DaSilva responded, “We apologize for this inconvenience and are arranging overnight accommodations in Honolulu for guests who may miss connections” on Friday.

“We were able to find hotel rooms for guests who contacted us seeking assistance,” DaSilva said late Friday morning via email from Honolulu.

Fausia, the Samoa News journalist traveling on the outbound flight, and two other passengers said prior to the flight’s departure for Honolulu that all travelers at the airport were given meal coupons valued $15 to $30.

Travelers connecting to the U.S. mainland, were also helped with their connecting flights on Saturday morning.