Passengers arriving in Samoa on an Air New Zealand flight were caught up in an armed stand-off between police and machete-wielding villagers this week.
Around 100 police clashed with residents from Satapuala village who had barricaded the road near Faleolo International Airport.
The Samoa Observer reported that police tried to remove boulders from the road as others fired warning shots into the air to scare off residents.
"Visitors to Samoa were greeted by the alarming sight of armed police officers and rowdy men wearing masks and balaclavas," the paper reported.
Some villagers armed themselves with machetes, rocks and bottles of kerosene.