Virgin passengers in limbo as Samoa blocks flights

Virgin Australia is scrambling to accommodate thousands of passengers after the Samoan govt blocked it from operating flights between the Pacific island and New Zealand. Samoa pulled the plug on Virgin Samoa, a joint venture with Virgin Australia in May and is preparing to launch its own national carrier called Samoa Airways. Virgin Australia had planned to fly its own services from Australia and New Zealand to the Samoan capital Apia from Nov 13, but Monday said that permission for Auckland to Apia flights had not been granted. About 6000 passengers booked on the 5 weekly return Auckland - Apia services will be affected. Virgin said it would fly those passengers to Samoa via Australia or to other destinations, or give them refunds. <br/>