Fa'a'ā International Airport

Fa'a'ā International Airport
Aéroport international de Tahiti Fa'a'ā
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator SETIL - Aéroports
Serves Tahiti, French Polynesia, France
Location Pape'ete
Hub for
Elevation AMSL 2 m / 5 ft
Coordinates 17°33′24″S 149°36′41″W / 17.55667°S 149.61139°W / -17.55667; -149.61139Coordinates: 17°33′24″S 149°36′41″W / 17.55667°S 149.61139°W / -17.55667; -149.61139
Website www.tahiti-aeroport.pf
Map
NTAA
NTAA
NTAA

Location in Tahiti

Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
04/22 3,420 11,220 Asphalt
Statistics (2015)
Passengers 1,195,105
Passenger traffic change 14-15 Increase 2.0%
Sources: French AIP[1] Aéroport.fr[2]

Fa'a'ā International Airport (French: Aéroport international de Tahiti Fa'a'ā) (IATA: PPT, ICAO: NTAA) is in the commune (municipality) of Fa'a'ā, on the island of Tahiti, French Polynesia, France 5 km (3.1 mi) west southwest[1] from the town center of Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia.[1] Tahiti is in the northwestern part of French Polynesia, and this is the only international airport in this overseas collectivity area of the French Republic. It opened in 1960. Regional air carrier Air Tahiti and international air carrier Air Tahiti Nui both have their head offices located at the airport.[3]

Overview

Fa'a'ā International Airport is relatively small. Air Tahiti has daily flights to most other islands in French Polynesia. There are international flights to Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand and the United States. The airport is on Tahiti, which is an island among the Windward Islands, the eastern part of the Society Islands. Because of limited level terrain, rather than leveling large stretches of sloping agricultural land, the airport is built primarily on reclaimed land on the coral reef just off-shore.

The airport is operated by Setil Aéroports and has a single 3,420 m (11,220 ft) runway,[1] that can accommodate aircraft up to Boeing 747 and Airbus A380 size.

Airlines and destinations

AirlinesDestinations
Air France Los Angeles, Paris-Charles de Gaulle[4]
Air New Zealand Auckland
Air Tahiti Ahe, Anaa, Atuona, Arutua, Bora Bora, Fakarava, Hao, Huahine-Fare, Kaukura, Makemo, Manihi, Mataiva, Maupiti, Moorea, Niau, Nuku Hiva, Raiatea, Raivavae, Rangiroa, Rarotonga, Rimatara, Rurutu, Takaroa, Tatakoto, Tikehau, Totegegie, Tubuai-Mataura
Air Tahiti Nui Auckland, Los Angeles, Paris-Charles de Gaulle,[4] Tokyo-Narita
Aircalin Nouméa
Hawaiian Airlines Honolulu
LATAM Chile Easter Island, Santiago de Chile

Historical airline service

Prior to the construction of the airport, Papeete was served by Short Sandringham "Bermuda" flying boat seaplanes operated by Reseau Aerien Interinsulaire (RAI) with connecting service via the Bora Bora Airport (BOB) to Los Angeles with an en route stop in Honolulu flown by Transports Aeriens Intercontinentaux (TAI) which was serving Bora Bora in 1960 with Douglas DC-7C propliners.[5] Later the same year following the opening of the new airport, TAI began serving Papeete directly with DC-7C flights once a week on a round trip routing of Noumea (NOU) - Nadi (NAN) - Papeete (PPT) - Honolulu (HNL) - Los Angeles (LAX).[6] U.S. based air carrier South Pacific Air Lines was also serving Papeete in 1960 with weekly nonstop flights to Honolulu operated with Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation propliners.[7] By 1962, South Pacific was operating weekly nonstop Super Constellation service to Pago Pago in America Samoa in addition to its flights to Honolulu.[8]

Transports Aeriens Intercontinentaux then introduced Douglas DC-8 jet service and in 1962 was operating nonstop DC-8 flights to Los Angeles, Honolulu and Nadi with the latter flight continuing on to Noumea with connecting DC-8 service being flown to Paris via Noumea in association with Air France via a number of intermediate stops en route.[9] TAI subsequently merged with Union Aeromaritime de Transport in 1963 to form Union de Transports Aeriens (UTA) which in turn continued to serve Papeete with DC-8 jet flights. In 1964, UTA was operating nonstop DC-8 service to Los Angeles, Honolulu and Nandi as well as direct one stop service to Noumea with the flights to Los Angeles offering connecting service to and from Air France nonstop flights between LAX and Paris Orly Airport.[10]

By the mid 1960s, Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) was operating nonstop Boeing 707 jetliner flights to Los Angeles and Auckland with direct one stop service to San Francisco via Los Angeles and also direct to Honolulu via a stop at Pago Pago in American Samoa.[11] LAN-Chile, the predecessor of LATAM Chile, introduced Douglas DC-6B propliner service between the airport and Santiago, Chile via a stop at Easter Island during the late 1960s and by 1970 was operating Boeing 707 jet service from Santiago via Easter Island to Papeete with direct connecting 707 service via its Santiago hub from Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro in South America as well as from Madrid, Paris and Frankfurt in Europe.[12]

Also by 1970, Union de Transports Aeriens was operating all flights into the airport with long range Douglas DC-8-62 jetliners.[13] UTA then introduced McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 wide body jet service between Papeete and Los Angeles during the mid 1970s.[14] By 1979, UTA was operating all of its Papeete flights with DC-10-30 jets with nonstops to Los Angeles, Auckland and Nandi with direct one stop service to Sydney and Noumea as well as multistop service to Jakarta, Singapore, Bahrain and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.[15] In 1983, UTA was operating Boeing 747 service into the airport in addition to its DC-10-30 flights.[16]

The airport was previously served by several other international airlines including AOM French Airlines and Qantas with flights not only to their respective home countries but also to Los Angeles.[17] Air New Zealand has served Tahiti for many years and was operating Douglas DC-8 jet service in 1968 with a routing of Auckland - Papeete - Los Angeles.[18] In 1983, Air New Zealand was operating direct one stop, no change of plane Boeing 747 service twice a week between London Gatwick Airport and Papeete via Los Angeles.[19] Air New Zealand currently operates nonstop Boeing 787-9 "Dreamliner" service several days a week between the airport and Auckland.[20] According to the Official Airline Guide (OAG), by the 1980s and 1990s, major air carriers serving Papeete primarily operated wide body jetliners such as the Boeing 747-100, 747-200, 747-300, 747-400, 767-300 or McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 on their flights. South Pacific Island Airways also served the airport during the early 1980s with nonstop Boeing 707 flights to Honolulu.[16]

Statistics

Traffic

Year Passenger Traffic
2000 1,548,327
2001 1,466,370
2002 1,370,254
2003 1,424,365
2004 1,413,572
2005 1,447,260
2006 1,535,825
2007 1,511,340
2008 1,379,832
2009 1,223,315
2010 1,183,273
2011 1,169,819
2012 1,152,593
2013 1,150,610
2014 1,171,618
2015 1,195,105
2016 1,243,631

Airline market share

Airline Market share
Air Tahiti Nui 49%
Air Tahiti 22%
Air France 16%
Air New Zealand 7%
Hawaiian Airlines 4%
Aircalin 1%
LAN Airlines 1%

Ground transportation

Many buses come into the airport from Pape'ete, the main bus being the airport shuttle which goes along the Tahiti west coast freeway, which passes in front of the main terminal. The parking lot has traffic guards in which 3,000 people pass through each month.

Accidents and incidents

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 NTAA – Tahiti Faa'a. AIP from French Service d'information aéronautique, effective 17 August 2017.
  2. Aéroport.fr - Statistiques annuelles Aéroport de Tahiti Faa'a (french only)
  3. "Préambule" Air Tahiti. Retrieved on 2 February 2011. "Société Air Tahiti Société Anonyme au capital de 2 760 000 000 CFP Siège social : aéroport de Tahiti - Faaa BP 314 - 98713 Papeete – Tahiti – Polynésie Française ."
  4. 1 2 https://www.travelcodex.com/2013/06/air-tahiti-nui-ties-up-with-air-france-hopes-to-stem-perpetual-annual-losses/
  5. http://www.timetableimages.com, Aug. 15, 1960 Air France system timetable, TAI & RAI flight schedules
  6. http://www.timetableimages.com, Dec. 12, 1960 Transports Aeriens Intercontineaux system timetable
  7. http://www.timetableimages.com, Sept. 23, 1960 South Pacific Air Lines timetable
  8. http://www.timetableimages.com, Feb. 16, 1962 South Pacific Air Lines timetable
  9. http://www.timetableimages.com, Aug. 15, 1962 Transports Aeriens Intercontinentaux system timetable
  10. http://www.timetableimages.com, May 15, 1964 Union de Transports Aeriens (UTA) system timetable
  11. http://www.timetableimages.com, Aug. 1, 1966 Pan American World Airways system timetable
  12. http://www.timetableimages.com, April 27, 1969 & Oct. 25, 1970 LAN-Chile system timetables
  13. http://www.timetableimages.com, Jan. 1, 1970 Union de Transports Aeriens (UTA) system timetable
  14. http://www.timetableimages.com, May 1, 1975 Union de Transports Aeriens (UTA) system timetable
  15. http://www.timetableimages.com, June 4, 1979 Union de Transports Aeriens (UTA) system timetable
  16. 1 2 http://www.departedflights.com, July 1, 1983 Official Airline Guide (OAG), Papeete Fa'a'a Intl. Airport flight schedules
  17. http://www.departedflights.com, July 1, 1983 Official Airline Guide (OAG), Papeete Fa'a'a Intl. Airport flight schedules & Oct. 1, 1996 Official Airline Guide, Los Angeles-Papeete & Auckland-Papeete & Sydney-Papeete flight schedules
  18. http://www.timetableimages.com, July 1968 Air New Zealand system timetable
  19. http://www.departedflights.com, July 1, 1983 Official Airline Guide (OAG), Papeete Fa'a'a Intl. Airport & London Gatwick Airport flight schedules
  20. https://www.airnewzealand.com. Flight Timetables
  21. Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network for Pan Am Flight 816
  22. AirDisaster.Com: Accident Photo: Air France F-GITA
  23. "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network.
  24. Accident on at Tahiti Faaa Airport to the DC10-10 registered N132AA operated by Hawaiian Airlines
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