American Samoa's Governor, Togiola Tulafono, has asked the Federal Aviation Administration to extend the current air traffic advisory service contract for Pago Pago International Airport while an automated system is being sought.
Last year, the FAA contracted a Washington-based company, Crown Consulting Inc, to provide traffic advisory services but the Governor has told the manager of the airports district office of the FAA in Honolulu, that the government is not going to be able to support the continuation of the advisory service due to financial constraints.
A statement from the Governor's office says there are inexpensive machines that can be mounted at the airport which can provide weather information to air traffic for Pago Pago.
The machines cost about 70,000 US dollars to be installed and have very low maintenance costs.
