Cassidy International Airport
Encyclopedia
Cassidy International Airport is an airport
located north of Banana
, a settlement on Kiritimati
(also known as Christmas Island) in Kiribati
. It is the only airport in the Kiribatian part of the Line Islands
with an IATA
and/or ICAO code
.
The airport is served by Fiji
's flag carrier Air Pacific
from Nadi
, Fiji and Honolulu, United States. Since neither Air Kiribati
nor Coral Sun Airways
owns aircraft capable of flying between Kiritimati and the Gilbert Islands
, where all other operational airports in Kiribati are located, there are no domestic flights to or from Kiritimati. However, Coral Sun Airways declares on its website the company is considering to purchase one larger aircraft, capable of flying to the Line Islands and the Phoenix Islands
.
, the United States Army Air Forces
Air Transport Command
used the airport as a refuelling stop on its Pacific transport route from Hawaii
to Kanton Island
for flights to Australia
and New Zealand
as well as a staging point for attacks on the Gilbert Islands
, then occupied by Japan
. The airport was expanded considerably during the war, and the World War II runway configuration can still be seen as abandoned runways and aircraft parking areas in aerial photography.
of 5 feet (2 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway
designated 08/26 with an asphalt
surface measuring 2103 by 30 m (6,899.6 by 98.4 ).
announced they would suspend flights operating the airport from 2 September 2008. The decision was made due to the deteriorating surface of the runway which had been deemed unsafe after an inspection by Air Pacific personnel and specialist runway engineers. Service resumed on 25 May 2010. During the period Air Pacific was not offering its services to Fiji and the United States, an American company called Te Mauri Travel offered "interim" charter flights to Kiritimati.
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
located north of Banana
Banana, Kiribati
Banana is a settlement on Kiritimati Island in Kiribati. It is located in the northeast of the atoll, close to the island's airport, Cassidy International.-Demographics:It is the third largest village on the island with a population of 1170 people in 2005....
, a settlement on Kiritimati
Kiritimati
Kiritimati or Christmas Island is a Pacific Ocean raised coral atoll in the northern Line Islands, and part of the Republic of Kiribati....
(also known as Christmas Island) in Kiribati
Kiribati
Kiribati , officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island nation located in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. The permanent population exceeds just over 100,000 , and is composed of 32 atolls and one raised coral island, dispersed over 3.5 million square kilometres, straddling the...
. It is the only airport in the Kiribatian part of the Line Islands
Line Islands
The Line Islands, Teraina Islands or Equatorial Islands, is a chain of eleven atolls and low coral islands in the central Pacific Ocean, south of the Hawaiian Islands, that stretches for 2,350 km in a northwest-southeast direction, making it one of the longest islands chains of the world...
with an IATA
IATA airport code
An IATA airport code, also known an IATA location identifier, IATA station code or simply a location identifier, is a three-letter code designating many airports around the world, defined by the International Air Transport Association...
and/or ICAO code
ICAO airport code
The ICAO airport code or location indicator is a four-character alphanumeric code designating each airport around the world. These codes are defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization, and published in ICAO Document 7910: Location Indicators.The ICAO codes are used by air traffic...
.
The airport is served by Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
's flag carrier Air Pacific
Air Pacific
Air Pacific Limited, Fiji's international airline, operates international and domestic services around the Pacific and to North America and Hong Kong. It is also a partner with the frequent flyer programmes of Qantas, American Airlines, and Alaska Airlines...
from Nadi
Nadi
Nadi is the third-largest conurbation in Fiji. It is located on the western side of the main island of Viti Levu, and had a population of 42,284 at the most recent census, in 2007. Nadi is multiracial with many of its inhabitants Indian or Fijian, along with a large transient population of foreign...
, Fiji and Honolulu, United States. Since neither Air Kiribati
Air Kiribati
Air Kiribati Limited is the national airline of Kiribati operating passenger services within the Gilbert Islands of Kiribati, and to Fiji. It also operates charters, medical evacuation and search and rescue services. Its main base is Bonriki International Airport, Tarawa Atoll.Until 2008, it was...
nor Coral Sun Airways
Coral Sun Airways
Coral Sun Airways is one, and the younger, of the two Kiribati airlines , established in January 2009. The airline operates domestic service to all 17 airports in the Gilbert Islands using two Britten-Norman Islander planes. It is considering the purchase of one new, larger aircraft, capable of...
owns aircraft capable of flying between Kiritimati and the Gilbert Islands
Gilbert Islands
The Gilbert Islands are a chain of sixteen atolls and coral islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are the main part of Republic of Kiribati and include Tarawa, the site of the country's capital and residence of almost half of the population.-Geography:The atolls and islands of the Gilbert Islands...
, where all other operational airports in Kiribati are located, there are no domestic flights to or from Kiritimati. However, Coral Sun Airways declares on its website the company is considering to purchase one larger aircraft, capable of flying to the Line Islands and the Phoenix Islands
Phoenix Islands
The Phoenix Islands are a group of eight atolls and two submerged coral reefs, lying in the central Pacific Ocean east of the Gilbert Islands and west of the Line Islands. They are a part of the Republic of Kiribati. During the late 1930s they became the site of the last attempted colonial...
.
History
During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its mission was to meet the urgent demand for the speedy reinforcement of the United States' military bases worldwide during World War II, using an air supply system to supplement surface transport...
used the airport as a refuelling stop on its Pacific transport route from Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
to Kanton Island
Kanton Island
Kanton Island , alternatively known as "Mary Island", "Mary Balcout's Island" or "Swallow Island", is the largest, northernmost, and as of 2007, the sole inhabited island of the Phoenix Islands, in the Republic of Kiribati. It is an atoll located in the South Pacific Ocean roughly halfway between...
for flights to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
as well as a staging point for attacks on the Gilbert Islands
Gilbert Islands
The Gilbert Islands are a chain of sixteen atolls and coral islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are the main part of Republic of Kiribati and include Tarawa, the site of the country's capital and residence of almost half of the population.-Geography:The atolls and islands of the Gilbert Islands...
, then occupied by Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. The airport was expanded considerably during the war, and the World War II runway configuration can still be seen as abandoned runways and aircraft parking areas in aerial photography.
Facilities
The airport resides at an elevationElevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....
of 5 feet (2 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...
designated 08/26 with an asphalt
Asphalt
Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...
surface measuring 2103 by 30 m (6,899.6 by 98.4 ).
Charter
Air Pacific service
On 29 August 2008, Air PacificAir Pacific
Air Pacific Limited, Fiji's international airline, operates international and domestic services around the Pacific and to North America and Hong Kong. It is also a partner with the frequent flyer programmes of Qantas, American Airlines, and Alaska Airlines...
announced they would suspend flights operating the airport from 2 September 2008. The decision was made due to the deteriorating surface of the runway which had been deemed unsafe after an inspection by Air Pacific personnel and specialist runway engineers. Service resumed on 25 May 2010. During the period Air Pacific was not offering its services to Fiji and the United States, an American company called Te Mauri Travel offered "interim" charter flights to Kiritimati.