American Samoa’s Talofa Airways is planning to add Manu’ island to their network.
This is possible after a second aircraft joined the airlines fleet.
The nine-seat Twin Otter plane arrived in the U.S. territory last week and is capable of servicing the small runways in the outer islands.
It’s already flying between Samoa and American Samoa, and Talofa Airways’ chair, Toleafoa Jeffrey Hunter, says they’re looking to expand in early 2019.T
here are three islands in the Manu’a group in American Samoa. Manu’a is located about 70 miles east of Tutuila.
Ta’u is the largest of the Manu’a group and the easternmost volcanic island of the Samoan Islands. The island is the peak of a huge undersea mountain. Lata Mountain on Ta’u is the highest peak in American Samoa at an elevation of 3,054 feet (931 meters). The land area of Tau Island is 44.31 square kilometres (17.11 sq mi) and it had a population of 873 persons as of the 2000 census.
Ta’u was once considered the seat of government for all of Samoa and Tonga. The “king” of Ta’u and Manu’a was Tuimanu’a. The last person to hold that title was Tuimanu’a Elisara and he was credited with signing the 1904 deed of cession giving ruling authority, for Manu’a, to the United States.
The largest airport in the Manu’a group is on Ta’u at Fiti’uta. Nearly half of Ta’u is part of the American Samoa National Park. “On Ta’u, accessed by the airport at Fitiuta, the trail from Saua around Si’u Point leads to the dramatic southern coastline with views of a rocky coast and sea cliffs stairstep to the 3,000 foot summit of Lata Mountain.”
