Totegegie Airport

IATA: GMR – ICAO: NTGJ

Summary

Airport type

Public

Serves

Gambier Islands, French Polynesia
Is the closest airport to the Pitcairn Islands

Location

Rikitea

Elevation AMSL

7 ft / 2 m

Coordinates

23°5′4″S 134°53′7″W / 23.08444°S 134.88528°W

Runways

Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	m	ft	Surface
12/30	2,000	6,562	Asphalt

Sources: French AIP^[1]

Totegegie Airport is an airport on Totegegie Island (in the Gambier Islands) French Polynesia (IATA: GMR, ICAO: NTGJ). It is 9 km northeast of the village of Rikitea.

Totegegie's name consists of the combination of two Mangarevan words (the local language, which takes its name from Mangareva, the main island of the archipelago): tote, which means a sandy islet on a reef (the equivalent of motu in Polynesian) and gegie (pronounced gniégnié) which is the name of a small shrub typical of atolls that looks much like a juniper bush without berries.

This shrub, Pemphis acidula, is widespread on Polynesian atolls and is best known as the miki miki. On Totegegie which is one of Mangareva's reefs approximately 9 km from Rikitea, the island's administrative settlement, the airport is to be found. It is the only building there. The airport is 1652 km from Tahiti^[2] and is classified as an territorial aerodrome. Its only service is to Tahiti Faaa International Airport on Tuesdays.^[3]

Mangareva is crucial in its role as the outside world's link to the more famous Pitcairn Island. One of the only ways a traveler can reach Pitcairn Island is to fly to Tahiti, then to Mangareva. From there, a 32-hour boat ride will take one to Pitcairn Island.^[4]

History

1967: Construction of a runway of 3,500 m by the 115th running of the Society of the Pacific Experimentation Centre Pacific (CEP).
1968: Landing of the first aircraft at Totegegie, a Piper Aztec, followed by a Breguet Deux-Ponts. The same year, a DC-6 performed weekly service between Totegegie, Mururoa and Papeete.
1978: First commercial air link Totegegie-Papeete.^[5]
1998: Decommissioning of the French army, including the shed and wharf metal. At the end of operations 50 tons of scrap metal had been collected.^[6]
2008: Expansion and modernization of existing terminal.