The brouhaha over the reported detention of the Hon. Speaker of the Samoan Parliament and a Cabinet Minister for alleged failure to get pre-boarding checks for an Air New Zealand flight has escalated into a hullabaloo.

The Samoan airport minister,Olo Fiti Va'ai, has demanded an apology from Air New Zealand for the disrespectful way the company has dealt  with the Samoan officials as evidenced by the SAMOA OBSERVER   headline: "Air NZ Bans VIP terminal use."

Our surprise take last week was: Has Air NZ that much power over a Samoan government property?'

We were surprised because of the awareness that the terminal is called the VIP Terminal for a reason - it is for Very Important People (VIP). If Samoan VIPs cannot be trusted to abide by the law and ensure nothing untoward happens to themselves and the other passengers, who can you trust?

We were somewhat loose with our note on the young reporters' scoop but we did express diffidence that such a big story should escape notice by Kiwi journalists. Hence our advice to mind their Ps and Qs: the English idiom that means to be on your best behaviour, be polite, and be careful with your words and actions.

 Air New Zealand is the main communication link between New Zealand and Samoa and we hope the hullabaloo does not affect the travelling public.

Manuia tele le vaiaso fou.