South Pacific Express (SPEX) services between Pago Pago and Apia were suspended on Friday the 21st of December due to a kafuffle between a co-pilot and mechanic.

When SPEX parent Freedom Air suspended the services last week, it saw approximately 500 passengers affected.  And now a week on it is believed that some 100 passengers are still stuck in American Samoa.

The co-pilot who was accused of punching the mechanic was fired immediately, with the mechanic in question, as well as the chief pilot, recalled.

The airline has been able to place some passengers on Inter Island Air and Polynesian Airlines, but they too have been experiencing peak passenger and cargo loads.

Radio New Zealand has reported that SPEX now expects to resume flights come the 1st of January, 2008, with a new flight crew to arrive in Pago Pago on New Year’s Eve.